Concealed Torture
by RockQueen98
Summary: There has never been someone who has looked deep into Draco's life, they have always judged him by what they see. They have never saw the pain that he hides, a secret life which he has never dared to speak a word of. A life which lies inside his own home. - DM/HP. Will be changed to M later on in the story.
1. Misunderstood

So, after a long time of consideration, I've finally decided to rewrite my most popular story, 'Another Side of Draco Malfoy'. The story had a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes, and quite a few loops. I wanted to see how well I could write it again.

The rating will **definitely **raise to M in later chapters, but for now, I will keep it at T. However, the events in this story will make me rise the rating, as well as a certain scene I didn't write in the last version.

If you've read the old story, feel free to read this rewrite! I won't be copying it word to word (the beginning of this chapter is completely different) and I will be making it different.

If you haven't read the old story, then still feel free, of course, to read this rewrite. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter One: Misunderstood

* * *

Everyone hates Draco Malfoy. He is a spoiled, awful coward who is just like his father. A Death Eater, a bully, _pathetic_. That is all he is. He's nothing more than that, and isn't worth being labelled as anything different. His only worth was the wealth from his family. If his last name wasn't 'Malfoy', he would be _nothing._

And he knows that. He has grown to believe it, even accept it. He had been reminded by enough people in his life, so much so, that it had to be all true, especially when that had been said to you constantly by your own father.

Oh, yes, of course they got along so well... 'My father will hear about this.' That simple phrase shows it, right? There was never any need to go deeper into their relationship, because everyone just knew for _sure _that they were perfectly okay. There were no secrets. At least, that what was people believed. Either that, or they just didn't care if there was anything much darker, worse than anyone would have ever guessed, happening behind the walls of Malfoy Manor.

It doesn't matter though, right? He didn't deserve any sympathy, any help, _anything._

No one would care that he is terrified of sleeping every night. Not because he was scared of falling asleep... He was scared of waking up, because he spent every single night with the one wish that he would sleep forever. He used to wish for it all to stop, but he knew now that it was never going to. Dying just seemed like a much more welcoming solution. He was too cowardly, however, to end it all himself. He didn't know why; he was never going to change the world for the better, so why did he have to stay living in it?

No one would care that for most of his life, he has been terrified of living in his own home. Terrified because a wrong action, word, sometimes even a _look, _resulted in him getting hurt. Whether it was by fists, boots, the beloved cane, or even spells, it would happen. Abuse which had gotten progressively worse over the years, no matter how much Draco tried to please him, and tried to be the perfect son. Abuse which had resulted in permanent damage to his body, which magic couldn't even heal, and had littered his body with numerous scars.

No one would care that he knew it had broken his mother's heart. A mother should never have to go through the torture of watching their only child go through so much pain. But Draco always prevented her from getting involved, from doing anything at all. The last thing he wanted was to see her get hurt too. He had always made sure not one bit of damage was inflicted on her, despite how much she wanted to be in Draco's position so he didn't have to ever be hurt again.

It didn't matter though, right? He deserved it. He deserved every bit of it. That's what he was told, and those were the words which were permanently plaguing his mind.

He deserved it.

He had first told himself that it wasn't his fault. He never did anything wrong, not to his father, at least. He had been wrong to others, the word 'Mudblood' was spat out so many times, and he had always acted as though he was better than everyone else. It wasn't his fault; he had been raised to believe that was right. He had never known that it wasn't right to treat people like that, and when it became clear to him once he had started his education in Hogwarts that it was indeed wrong, he realised that he had been raised the complete opposite to how he should have been.

However, the continuous words from his father telling him that everything was his fault haunted his mind. They were all lies, but to Draco, they were truths.

His harsh behaviour to everyone else at Hogwarts became a mask, and not once did he show his true side. He didn't even know what his true side was... He knew he had been in the wrong, but how else could he act? He didn't truly understand anything else but what he had been taught his entire life.

His mask, however, was beginning to slip. Tears had escaped in the presence of others, even though he could never tell anyone why exactly those tears had fallen. It had to all stay a secret.

Draco knew that he would forever just be a puppet, his strings being controlled by Lucius.

* * *

"Draco, are you almost ready? The train is leaving in an hour."

The young Malfoy turned to his mother standing in his bedroom doorway, and smiled weakly.

"Yes, I'm coming now. I'm just packing a couple more of my books which I've decided to take," he replied.

"Alright, try not to take too long. I do not want you to be late," she said.

"I won't be, don't worry."

She nodded, smiling sadly. She sighed when she heard a call from Lucius, and quickly walked away. Draco picked up the two books from his desk, and placed them in his trunk. He didn't want to use magic, as he was trying to stay in his bedroom for as long as possible before he had to leave, and that would have been quicker. Part of him didn't want to return to Hogwarts for his final year. He was safer there, much safer, but he was going to spend the whole year being even more hated than he had ever been. He was glad that Professor McGonagall and the other professors were able to secure the castle and stop the Death Eaters from taking over, but Dumbledore's death was still on his hands, despite his godfather being the one to complete his task. The only reason that Draco was even allowed to attend this year was from the request of Dumbledore, written before he died. He would still be under extreme watch, considering he was a Death Eater and he could pass on information any time he liked to Voldemort. He would never do that, but of course, no one would believe that.

He lifted his trunk, and cursed under his breath when it slipped out of his hand and fell onto the floor. His eyes looked down at his hands, which were twitching uncontrollably. He waited until the motions calmed before he pointed his wand at the trunk and levitated it instead.

Several _Cruciatus _curses which he had been hit with over the summer had started to make his body react badly to lifting anything remotely heavy, or even just too much movement. He had dealt with the _Cruciatus _curse at several times in his life, but never to the extent of what he had been attacked with in the summer.

A lot of Death Eaters had been in the Malfoy Manor during his school holiday; even the Dark Lord himself had visited quite often. It was clear that the Manor was becoming the most popular household to hold meetings, some of which had already been held. It was extremely dangerous for Draco to simply walk around the Manor's halls. Some just simply ignored him, but others used him as a target. Some of them were outraged at him that he would just throw away a chance to finish such an important task set by the Dark Lord, one which they themselves would have done in a heartbeat. They saw him as an unfaithful Death Eater, and used this as an excuse to throw hexes and curses at him. His father obviously didn't care, his mother couldn't do anything, and Voldemort didn't mind at all himself. He could sense that Draco wanted to be on the Light, not to mention he was never near where these attacks were. He was never safe for him. He had even been taken advantage of by one of the Death Eaters one night, who merely laughed, and said it was the most he would ever get. He hadn't been able to defend himself, being as his wand had been thrown across the room and his body was too weak to fight him off. He had been left lying on the floor, tears of humiliation and pain falling down his cheeks.

Draco shuddered, and quickly headed out of his room. The memories from the summer were starting to convince him more that he would be better off going to Hogwarts, despite the huge amount of death threats he would be likely to receive.

"There you are, Draco," Narcissa said when he entered the main hallway. "It's best if you leave now if you want to be careful about arriving on time."

Narcissa had been very relieved when she was told by a reluctant McGonagall that Draco had permission to return that year. She wanted nothing more than her son to be away from home, knowing that he was in much more danger there and he could be kept away from his father and the Death Eaters if he was in school. She told Lucius that if Draco were to finish his studies, he would provide more help in the war, and so he agreed.

"I believe that the Dark Lord is planning on giving you another task within the following months to test your loyalty," Lucius said, his cold eyes fixed on Draco's. "I will contact you when this has been confirmed."

Draco nodded, and quickly left the Manor before anything else was able to be said.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione were making their way across Platform 9 ¾, all three excited. They still, of course, had a lot of worries on their minds, but since Voldemort was still moving slowly, they were able to attend their final year. It was recommended, being as Hogwarts was safer for them than anywhere else and they still had a small amount of learning to do, which would naturally be helpful for them in battle.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how this year unfolds," said Hermione as they stepped onto the Hogwart's Express.

"It feels weird though, that it's our final year here," Ron said.

"It's honestly hard for it to sink in that we won't be back after this," Harry sighed. "I'm sure going to miss this place."

"Well, at least we still have one more year," Hermione smiled, but it faltered when she saw that Ron was scowling. "Ron, what's wrong?"

"_That _is what's wrong," Ron said, gesturing to a certain blonde Slytherin further down the carriage. He was leaning against a wall, reading a book.

"What is _he _doing here?" Harry asked. "I thought they wouldn't even let him come back."

"I heard that Dumbledore requested him to stay before he passed away," Hermione said. "I have no idea why he would, but I suppose he knew what he was doing..."

"But he's a Death Eater!" Ron exclaimed. "It's dangerous to let him in the school."

"I don't think he'd be able to do much with how much security is in the school at the moment from the Aurors," said Harry. "They'll probably keep a close eye on him."

"They better; I don't trust that slimy ferret one bit."

"Come on, we need seats and we'll have to go past him, as awful as he may be!" Hermione said. The other two nodded reluctantly, and the three friends walked down towards him to get to the next carriage. Their movements slowed to a stop when he looked up at them, and were surprised when he simply looked back down at his book and carried on reading.

"What the Hell, Malfoy?" Ron said. Draco sighed and tucked his book under his arm, looking up at Ron.

"Excuse me if I'm wrong, Weasley, but I believe I'm alright to stand here if I wish."

"And read a book? I bet it's some sort of Dark Arts book, isn't it?" Ron said, reaching for the book under Draco's arm. The Slytherin quickly grabbed it with his other hand and put it inside the pocket of his robe. He certainly didn't want the Golden Trio to discover that he has a love for magical creatures, of all things. That sort of information would spread like wildfire through the school.

"That's just ridiculous, Weasley. If you don't mind, I'm actually going to go and find someone who is worth my time," Draco said, and began to walk away. He seriously didn't want to get involved with the Golden Trio this year, at least as little as possible. However, Ron still reached out and grabbed Draco's arm. The blonde had no time to brace himself for contact, and couldn't hold in his cry of pain when Ron hand touched his skin. The sudden pressure ran through his arm and down into his hand.

"Ron, you're hurting him. Let go," Harry said. Even though he was still angry at what Draco had done the previous year, seeing Draco's fear on top of the Astronomy Tower that dreadful night had made him question whether Draco had become a Death Eater willingly or not.

"Come on, I was hardly touching him!" Ron exclaimed, but he still let go of Draco's arm. Draco looked over at Harry curiously, wondering why he would even bother to help. He quickly had to look away, though. The confusion about how he felt about the Gryffindor had bothered him for years, and since he started becoming less able to keep up his mask, he was never able to look at Harry for long before his confusion slowly disappeared, and his true feelings would begin to develop. He couldn't let that happen.

"Malfoy, what's up with your hand?" Harry asked. Draco quickly held it behind his back, silently wishing for the shaking to stop completely. No concealing charms could cover up that.

"It's nothing. I really better go," he said, and quickly walked away before anything else was asked.

"That was... Strange," Hermione said, her eyes following Draco as he walked down the carriage.

"Well, it's Malfoy, what do you expect?" Ron laughed.

"You never know what to expect from him," Harry said. He couldn't quite put a finger on what could possibly be wrong with Malfoy.

* * *

"Draco, are you alright?"

Draco turned away from the window to look at his friend, Pansy. She had been the only person last year who Draco could confess his fears of his task to, without feeling like he could be judged. She was his one true friend, though of course, she still didn't know his deepest secrets.

"No... No, I'm really not," he sighed deeply.

"You can talk to me, Draco," she said softly. "I won't judge you or anything. Just tell me what's bothering you, please."

"I..." Draco hesitated. "I can't, Pansy. I'm sorry. I just... I just can't."

"I'm here for you Draco," she said. "I mean it."

Draco smiled sadly, and he looked back out of the window of the carriage. She sighed softly, and looks away from him. There has always been something wrong with Draco; she could see it in his eyes, ever since she met him. She knew that whatever was bothering him was big, and she wanted to help him, but she knew that it was something which was hard for Draco to say. She had her suspicions, but she could never be certain unless Draco told her himself, and there wasn't any way at all that she could ask.

She would just have to wait, and see if Draco will ever find the courage to tell her himself.

Soon enough, the Hogwart's Express had arrived at Hogmeade. Draco and Pansy waited for a couple of minutes so that they wouldn't get caught in the midst of the crowds scampering off the train. However, to Draco's dismay, it seemed as though the Golden Trio had the same plan as the two friends did, and they yet again bumped into each other.

"Bloody hell, it's him _again! _Wow, I can already tell this is going to be a bad year!" Ron exclaimed to Harry and Hermione. They both grinned in amusement, but Harry's faltered when he looked at Draco. He just didn't seem... Well, like himself.

"Come on, Ron, let's just leave it and go get a carriage," he said. For some reason, the pain he could see in Draco's eyes made all of the humour he felt just moments ago fade away.

"What, you're taking his side? Come on, Harry! I bet he's trying to follow us around, plotting something against us, maybe trying to help out his precious Dark Lord."

"That is ridiculous, Weasley..." Draco sighed. He did not have the energy to deal with him at all.

"Why don't you just leave him alone?" Pansy said angrily, stepping in. "He has enough on his mind without having you trying to make it worse for him!"

Draco smiled at her gratefully, but her words didn't stop Ron. Naturally, as he had a very large grudge against Draco, he didn't let it go that easily.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I completely forgot about poor little Draco Malfoy's life! He must spend _so _much time worrying about not sucking up to his precious Lord and his father enough and how he should please them. I bet he spends _so _much time worrying about having too much choice on what he can buy when Mummy takes him shopping. Seriously, you're nothing! You deserve to rot away in Azkaban, and that's what's going to happen to you. You won't be pleasing Daddy then, will you? In fact, he'd probably be glad that his pathetic son is in there! He'd probably just laugh at the thought of you receiving the Dementor's kiss, and I would to, because the thought that you actually have a soul is laughable!" Ron shouted at him.

"RON! That's enough!" Harry yelled at him. Ron looked at him in confusion. Hermione also looked shocked by Ron's outburst. The four of them, including a very angry Pansy, looked over at Draco, wondering how many hexes he would cast. To their surprise, it was zero.

"You know nothing about my life, Weasley. Before you start trying to act as if you know everything about me, you might want to try actually getting your facts straight. Perhaps I do deserve to be in Azkaban. If you think that I'm actually proud of what I'm done, then that is the laughable thing here. Why don't you try and stay out of my life before you ruin it further? Every single day is a curse, and don't you _dare _make it worse for me," he said quietly. He quickly looked at Pansy, gesturing her to follow him, before walking away. She could see that he was trying to hide tears from the other three. She nodded, but she first had to say a few of her own words, being Draco's best friend.

"You three listen to me, especially you, Weasley. Leave Draco the fuck alone. I don't know what is going on with him, but if my theories are correct, he is going through more pain than you would ever suspect. I will not accept you bringing him down further. I know about what he has done but there is so much more to him than he reveals. He doesn't want to bother you this year at all, so can't you just leave him be?" she said, before she quickly caught up with Draco up ahead.

"Wow, there is something weird going on with them," Ron muttered.

"Ron, you went too far," Harry said. "I dislike him just as much as you do but what you said was uncalled for."

"You're _still _taking his side?" Ron questioned in an angry tone.

"No, I'm not, I'm just stating the truth," Harry sighed, though he knew Ron wouldn't listen when he was mad like this.

"But Harry, it's Malfoy! He's-"

"Ron, just leave it!" Hermione said. "Harry does have a point. You _did _take it too far. Malfoy and Parkinson said nothing to you and then you started a fight anyway. It was uneeded."

Harry nodded in agreement. Ron looked at them both in disbelief.

"You're... You're taking Malfoy's side as well; even after everything he has called you? I can't believe this!" Ron shouted, before he stormed off to Dean and Seamus' carriage.

They both sighed deeply, before they made their own way to a carriage.

"I did find it a bit funny at first, but what Ron said was wrong... He shouldn't have been like that. It doesn't make him any better than Malfoy is, speaking like that to him," Hermione said.

"I know, I couldn't help but be angry at him," Harry replied.

He frowned as he thought about Draco and Pansy's words. What was going on in Draco's life that they had all failed to see? The image of the pain Harry could see in Draco's eyes plagued his mind. There was something big here, he could tell... And he was going to do his best to find out what it was.

* * *

I am so, _so _glad I decided to write this again.

I have literally been writing this for the last four hours, despite my health. I just quickly drew a cover, and I didn't even just think of carrying on with this tomorrow. It is now 03:46am. I think I best get to bed.

Thank you for reading, and feel free to review! They always keep me motivated to write. Bye for now!


	2. Secrets

Hello again readers!

I think I'm going to try to make Monday the day I update this (or early Tuesday morning), but naturally, there will be times when I post before or after this day.

Anyway, I hope you're enjoying the story, and will enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Two: Secrets

* * *

The atmosphere in the Great Hall was very different to how it had been over the years.

Even though Professor McGonagall was a very good replacement for Dumbledore, and she was obviously more than capable of taking care of the school, the death of the previous headmaster haunted it. It was strange for all of the students to know that they would never see the calm old wizard again, perhaps with the exception of first years, which had naturally decreased in number. Some parents thought Hogwarts would be the safest place for them to go with the danger that lurked in the Wizarding world, some believed it would be safer for them to stay at home after the death of Dumbledore, and others even began to flee out of the United Kingdom to try to keep their children completely out of harm's way.

This year, as Severus Snape had naturally not returned, Professor Slughorn had accepted Professor McGonagall's request for his return. To many of the students' joy, Remus Lupin had asked if he could return to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts once again. Professor McGonagall knew that he would do well as the teacher, and as it was a known fact that some of the students may have to defend themselves soon if the school was under attack, it was important that this lesson was someone who would teach the students everything they needed.

The students, with the image of being in danger worrying them, were very wary of the Slytherins. Some of them had parents who were Death Eaters, even if they weren't a Death Eater themselves. They were all under close watch, however, especially on Draco Malfoy. He knew that they had once again made him a prefect because if he did something wrong in this position, they had more of a reason to expel him.

He had been distracted during all of the house placements, and realised that he didn't even know any of the Slytherins' names... However, he was lucky enough to have Pansy as the other prefect. She, in her protective manner, was looking at him with concern when he didn't start to eat the first feast of the year.

"Draco, why aren't you eating?" she asked him, looking down at his empty plate.

"I don't really feel like it... I feel nauseous," he replied. It wasn't a lie; the various glares and obvious hatred from almost everyone on the other tables in the Hall were making him feel rather queasy.

"Aw, come on, Malfoy!" Gregory Goyle called from a little further down the table. "You're starting to lose that nice Quidditch body you always seemed so proud about!"

Both he and Crabbe began to laugh, and a few people were smirking. Pansy, however, shot them a glare so cold that they immediately stopped laughing. She turned back to Draco, her face softening.

"Don't listen to him, Draco. You don't have to eat if you don't want to."

She had actually been very worried about his eating habits for a while. He had always been a little skinny, but since the previous year, his weight had dropped dramatically. He had even stopped growing over the last couple of years, and now even Harry Potter was somewhat taller than him, after the Gryffindor seemed to have grown a lot over their sixth year and the summer holidays. He was still a little over average, and it could have just been him taking after his mother's height rather than his father's, but she had a feeling part of it was due to his reduced eating habits. She didn't know whether it was because he was insecure about eating or if he was simply filled with too much worry and never had the appetite to. She did know, however, that this was not the time or place to discuss this with Draco, and he was certainly not in the right frame of mind to hear one of her lectures.

"Thank you... Would you mind if I go outside and get some air for a few minutes?" he asked. The other students in the Hall were getting a little bit too much for him to handle.

"Yeah sure, I don't mind," she said, smiling. She knew that this was one of the times that Draco needed a few minutes along to clear his mind. There was the concern, though, that one of the teachers would follow him outside.

"Thanks, Pansy. I'll only be a little while; I'm not going to leave you on your own with those first years."

He smiled, and quickly walked across the Great Hall while avoiding eye contact with the other students. He made his way through the corridor outside, and around the corner so he wouldn't be heard. He leant against the wall, and slid down so he was crouched by the bottom of it. He lifted his knees to his face, and finally allowed the tears which he had been holding back for hours fall down his cheeks. He had no idea how he was going to get through this year. It was obvious that the only person on his side was Pansy, and on a much more worrying note, he knew that in the next couple of months, he would be set another task. He wasn't sure if he had the courage to go through with it, or even the willpower.

He leant his head back against the cool wall, wincing at the movement of his neck. His body was still aching tremendously after the recent assault from his 'beloved' father. He had been stupid enough to answer back, and knew that he should have just stayed silent, but he didn't, and he had to pay the consequences.

A couple of more tears escaped his eyes. He cursed silently; mad at himself for being so _pathetic. _He was surely old enough not to cry at it all by now?

"Malfoy, what are you doing out here?"

He looked up when he heard a man's voice in front of him, slightly relieved when he saw it was just Professor Lupin.

"I... I just needed to get out of there for a minute. I have a headache and it's awfully loud."

"Well, I was asked to follow you in case you were up to..." the professor paused when he looked at Draco properly. "Wait, have you been crying?"

"I'm fine," he said, quickly wiping his face with his sleeve. Lupin watched him has he rose up off the ground and brushed off the dirt on his robes.

"Malfoy-"

"It's nothing," Draco interrupted, and walked back into the Hall before Lupin could say anything else.

* * *

Not very long after, it was time for the prefects to guide the first years to the dormitories. Pansy had looked into his grey eyes, and she could see straightaway that he had been crying. She knew that this, like before, wasn't the time or place to ask Draco what was wrong, not to mention that if he wanted to tell her, he would do it when he is ready. She simply gave him a small nod to show him her understanding, before she beckoned the Slytherin first years to come along with them.

"Alright everyone, my name is Pansy Parkinson and this Draco Malfoy-"

Lots of excitable gasps and whispers from the first years interrupted her. Draco rolled his eyes, and raised a hand to silence them, before nodding at Pansy to continue.

"As I was saying... We are the Slytherin prefects, so we will show you the way to the dormitories. Please don't even _think _about wandering off to do whatever you want, unless you want to miss out on what the password is and be embarrassingly locked out of the common room!" she chuckled. They all nodded at her, though their eyes were soon fixed on Draco once more.

"Enough with the stares, let's just go," he sighed quietly, but it was loud enough for all of them to hear.

They were soon travelling up the moving staircases, and Draco smiled softly when he saw the children point up at the artwork hung up on the walls. The amazing pieces of art which bless Hogwarts was something that he had always loved, and he remembered how astonished he was when he had saw them for the first time. The smile soon faded, however, when he saw a certain redheaded Gryffindor glaring over at him from another staircase. He noticed though that Granger, the other Gryffindor prefect, seemed somewhat frustrated with him, and Potter didn't even seem to be talking to Weasley – his focus was primarily on Granger.

"Just ignore him," Pansy whispered to him, interrupting his thoughts. "He's just being immature."

He nodded to her in agreement, but he was still curious as to what was wrong with the Golden Trio. It couldn't have been what happened at their arrival at Hogsmeade, surely?

Soon enough, the two prefects and the first years had arrived in the school dungeons and were standing outside the Slytherin common room.

"Alright, here we are, first years! The password is Anguis, do _not _forget it, otherwise you won't be able to get in! If you need to make a note of it, do so. You'll be told if the password ever changes," she said in a loud voice. She had had enough problems the previous year with first years not remembering the password; she didn't want to deal with it again.

"Why isn't _he _saying anything?" a little girl with red hair asked, smirking.

"Yeah, I thought Malfoys were really loud and stuck-up! I thought he'd be boasting and such, too. Actually, shouldn't he be with his father helping out You-Know-Who?" a brunette boy said, cockily. Draco sighed at this. Was that seriously what everyone believed? Wow, it was no wonder everyone who wasn't in Slytherin hated him.

"Well, you are quite far off me then, aren't you..." he paused, looking at the boy.

"Dickens. Matthew Dickens," he said proudly. _Typical pureblood attitude,_ he thought to himself.

"Right, Dickens, you should never judge people you have never met, nor know nothing about. Yes, I am a Malfoy, and I am in fact a Death Eater, but that doesn't necessarily mean I am pleased about it, and it d_efinitely _doesn't mean I am merely a copy of Lucius Malfoy. Do you understand me?"

The small Slytherin gulped and nodded. He was clearly completely okay with saying what he wants and insulting people, but as soon as someone answered back and stood up for themselves, he had no idea what to do. In fact, the boy's cockiness reminded Draco of his old self in the first couple of years of school, which had naturally began to disappear (along with his confidence) when his life at home started to worsen. _It's kind of understandable, when your own father will hit you simply for looking at him in a way he doesn't like, _he thought to himself, making him shudder at a memory from his fourth year. Lucius was laughing about how Harry Potter was in the TriWizard Tournament. At first Draco was fine with simply nodding in 'agreement' and didn't really listen to what his father was saying, but then he said some awful words about what was going to happen to Potter in the Tournament, and how he 'deserved' them. Draco, for merely a second, had shot his father a glare after not being able to control his anger. After that day, he never underestimated his father's temper again.

"So, as you can see, it is pretty big in here," Pansy said as they entered the common room. The first years looked around in awe at the silver and green decorated room. "You'll probably find this will be a nice place for you to do your homework in and such, and you'll probably find yourself in here quite often. Over there, as you can see, are three staircases leading downwards. The one on the left leads to the male fifth year and below dormitories and bathrooms, the one in the middle leads to the sixth year, seventh year and prefects' rooms and bathrooms, and then, finally the right staircase leads to the fifth year and below girls' dormitories and bathrooms. Any questions?"

"Why can't we have our own rooms like the older years?" a girl with raven hair asked. Quite a few of them nodded in agreement.

"Because, I think the school realises that us older pupils need more privacy than you younger years do," Pansy chuckled.

"But that's not fair!" Matthew whined.

"Yes, it is. We were as young as you once and had to share a dormitory, too, and we didn't complain. So quit your moaning," Draco muttered to him.

"Alright..." he sulked.

Draco no longer saw Dickens' resemblance as his younger self. There was rarely a time when Draco had ever whined, no matter what happened. That may perhaps be one of the only thinks he had in common with his father, excluding the platinum blonde hair.

* * *

That night, Pansy and Draco found themselves sitting in Draco's room before they had to go to bed. They had spent a lot of time doing this last year; always in Draco's room being as he always kept it perfectly tidy. As well as her obvious desire to talk to Draco while the two of them were away from everyone, she also wanted to see if she could manage to get Draco to confess the secrets he was keeping from her. She was doubtful he would say anything, but she knew it was worth a try.

"So, how were your holidays, Pansy? Did you enjoy America?" Draco asked a few minutes into their conversation, smiling. Pansy couldn't help but feel proud of how Draco managed to cope with whatever he was going through just for her.

"Oh, it was so lovely, Draco! It was so different to living here, but it was such a nice experience. New York was the most enjoyable, definitely... The shops were gorgeous!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Muggles are known to make some nice clothing, after all," he nodded. "I knew you'd love it there."

"I did, very much so. I got so many beautiful items of clothing I _must _show you in the holidays," she sighed dreamily. "How were your holidays, anyway?"

It was only a second later and a cold glare from Draco that the realisation hit her. _Oh, no,_ she thought to herself, panicked. _I should not have asked that..._

"Splendid, if your idea of splendid is living in even worse fear than usual because not only are you scared of being beaten shitless by your father for being _pathetic _enough not to kill your own headmaster, you are also scared of living in your own home because the other Death Eaters, your so-called _family, _are using you as a target and one of them even decides that you're so worthless that they can just take advantage of you when you are left completely helpless and weak after numerous Cruciatus curses. So completely splendid!" he said hurriedly, his tone angry. But then he thought about what he had just blurted out... _No, I should not have said that... I should not have said that... _He looked at the floor, not wanting to see the expression on Pansy's face.

"Draco... Draco, look at me."

He hesitated, before slowly raising his head to look into her eyes. She looked worried, and naturally, shocked, but not as much as he thought she would be.

"I knew something was going on at home, I just knew it. I've seen the way you wince when someone touches you and I've always noticed how Lucius looks at you... And who... When you say someone took advantage of you..."

"Yes, they did," Draco said quietly. "But... But I shouldn't have said all of that, Pansy!"

"Draco, it'll be okay, you just have to tell-"

"No, I can't! No one can know! He'll beat me and hurt me until there's no more of me left if anyone found out. I haven't been able to tell someone my whole life and it isn't any different now!"

"Draco, please, calm down! If you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't, I promise. I'm just worried about you, Draco!" she exclaimed, looking at him with a mixture of sympathy and sadness.

"I know, I'm sorry... I'm just scared," he whispered, as a tear fell down his cheek. She wrapped her arms around him and brought him into a hug.

"I know, Draco," she murmured, her hand gently rubbing his back.

"If he's like this with me now, Merlin knows how he'll react if he finds out I'm gay," he chuckled humourlessly.

"It'll be okay, Draco. I'm here," she said softly. He nodded and buried his head into her shoulder, letting more tears fall. She gently pulled him closer, careful not to hurt his concealed injuries. She rocked him gently like one would a child, which Draco found smoothing. It was the sort of movement his mother would do on the nights Lucius wasn't around, and he welcomed the comfort gratefully. A couple of minutes later, Draco pulled away.

"Thank you for being such a good friend, Pansy," he said, smiling softly. "I don't know what I would do without you here."

"It's no problem at all, Draco. I will always be here for you."

* * *

"_You're lucky that the Dark Lord was impressed by how you fixed that Vanishing Cabinet, Draco, otherwise you'd be long dead by now."_

_Draco looked at his father, mentally pleading for any abuse to just be dealt as soon as possible so he didn't have to listen to any more of his insults._

"_Perhaps it would have been better off that way for you, really. He doesn't fully trust you now, Draco, and it's not like many people would even miss you if you were gone. It's actually pathetic how you couldn't even kill that old bastard... Lots of people in your place would have done anything to receive such a big task. Why on Earth wouldn't you finish what you started?"_

"_Perhaps it is because I have a heart."_

"_What did you just say to me?"_

_Draco panicked, and tried to not say anything more, but the words fell out of his mouth uncontrollably. _

"_I have a heart. Unlike everyone else, I have a heart. I wouldn't kill someone who is innocent. You can call me pathetic all you want, but the fact that all of you are too scared of him that you would do everything he says is more pathetic than I would ever be."_

_There was an intense silence on the room for a few moments before Lucius spoke again._

"_Are you calling me pathetic? _CRUCIO!"

Draco gasped and woke up, sweat trickling down his forehead. He was grateful that he didn't have to relive any more of that night, being as it was one of the worst ones he had ever dealt with. But these dreams always left him feeling panicked, and reminded him of the danger he had whenever he had to return home and that, as much as he didn't want to be, he was still a death Eater. These thoughts always hurt him; he was hated at home for being a part of something he wanted to escape from, and at Hogwarts, he would never be accepted on their side.

He was always alone.

* * *

I am enjoying writing this rewrite so much... Especially Pansy, she is such a sweetheart to poor Draco.

Here is a quick reply to one of the guest reviews I received:

I didn't mean to worry anyone in the last chapter! Haha, I just have a few bad medical problems and the only reason why I mentioned that is because as I was up very late to get it posted (being as I was so enthralled), I knew I would be feeling worse when I woke up. But I'm not that stupid normally! xD I rarely keep myself awake up until that side and I do normally try to look after myself. Anyway, thanks for your kind words! I'm glad you think that this is running more smoothly than the original, being as that is one of my main focuses.

Thanks to the other people who reviewed, and for the follows and favourites! They all motivate me to write and I love to see that people are enjoying my work.

Feel free to review this chapter and tell me your thoughts, it is always nice to read them. Until the next update, goodbye!


	3. Truce

I am sorry that I didn't get this updated yesterday. I was going to try to finish it last night, but I was so tired and I never got round to it!

But here it is - Enjoy!

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Three – Truce

* * *

After waking up from his nightmare, Draco did not fall asleep again. It was almost impossible for him to ever sleep after he had them, and he didn't even bother trying. Instead, he simply lay on his bed sheets, staring up at the ceiling through the early morning. After a while, his thoughts shifted from his dream to the task the Dark Lord was planning for him. His father had said that Voldemort had wanted to test Draco's loyalty, and Draco knew that meant that he wasn't going to be given anything easy. It was probably going to something which both he and the Dark Lord knew he couldn't do. If he was assigned to take someone's life again, then there was absolutely no chance that he would be able to go through with it, even if it was Ron Weasley. He was almost certain that he _will _be assigned to kill someone, and when he failed, that would be the end of him... In, most likely, a way that would be nowhere near painless.

Suddenly, his muggle alarm rang, making him jump terribly in his frightened state. He sighed, and waved his wand at the clock to stop its ringing. The time on it read 6:00, the time his concealing charm would have faded away. He brushed back the hair on his forehead, realising how long he must have been laying there for. He was naturally very tired, but he knew that he definitely won't be able to get any sleep until that night.

He placed his wand by his side, and then proceeded to remove his nightwear, his fingers avoiding his delicate skin as much as possible. He then picked his wand back up, and began to conceal the bruises, cuts and scars inflicted on his body. Naturally, it wasn't necessary for him to conceal _everything _which his father and some of the Death Eaters did to him, but he felt much safer concealing it all. It took him at least five minutes to cover it all and to make sure that there was nothing he had missed, as he wanted to avoid any suspicions at all costs.

Because everyone else would most likely not be out of bed until around seven, and he obviously wasn't going to sleep until then, he decided to take a long shower. His concealing charm, of course, did not fade way from contact with water. He entered his bathroom, and ran his hand under the pouring water until he was satisfied with the heat. As he stepped inside the shower, he winced at the water washing over his cuts, but his body quickly got used to the contact. He sighed when the water began to calm him, and closed his eyes. It was very soothing, but unlike the characters in several books he had read, the water didn't 'wash away his troubles'.

He had stood in there for an hour before he faintly heard a knock on the door of his bedroom, which he only had managed to hear due to him leaving the door of his bathroom open. Instincts of living in his dangerous home over the summer took over, and he quickly turned off the shower, jumped straight out of it, and grabbed a towel. He hurriedly wrapped it around his waist and grabbed his wand, looking at the door.

"Draco, are you awake?"

He relaxed when he heard Pansy's call through the door. He placed his wand down on his bed, feeling ridiculous. Of course it would be her, who else would it be? However, he did realise that his behaviour _was _understandable. After having Death Eaters roaming around his house, as well as his father, he had naturally become very cautious.

"Yeah, hang on a second, I'm just going to get some clothes on," he called back to her, and quickly threw on his Slytherin uniform. He opened the door, and greeted her with a smile, which she returned.

"I thought for a moment that you had overslept! You normally would have come to make sure I'm wake by now!" she grinned.

"I know, I was just having a longer shower than I usually have," he explained, gesturing at his wet hair.

"Ah, that makes sense," she chuckled. "I'm going to go and get myself ready, then. I'll meet you in the common room at 7:45, okay?"

"Sure, that's fine. See you soon," he replied. She waved, and walked back to her room.

He took his wand and used it to dry his hair. As he brushed his hand through his hair, he decided he was too tired to use any gel – but, after he ruffled his blonde locks, decided he preferred to keep it natural anyway. He grinned slightly at his reflection. Even though he hated being a Malfoy, he loved the colour of his hair, and they did make for attractive people. Before he grabbed his bag and headed up to the common room, he grabbed his favourite earring – a silver ring with a green snake curled around it with rubies as eyes – and placed it in his left earlobe.

He settled in one of the green velvet armchairs in the Slytherin common room while he waited for Pansy. He smirked when he saw that the time was 7:44. _Trust her to come at literally 7:45, _he thought to himself. Pansy had always been someone who was on time, and never was a minute late or a minute early.

"What are you smirking at?"

Draco looked at Dickens who was standing by the armchair, and rolled his eyes.

"An amusing thought which does not include you, Dickens, so keep out of my business, please."

Dickens glared at him, but stormed off to his friends without replying.

"What was that all about?" Pansy, who had just walked up to him. Draco chuckled, before getting up off the armchair to stand next to her.

"It was nothing more than an annoying first year who thinks they are _so _tough because they got sorted into Slytherin."

"Oh, of course. Goodness, I hope we were never _that _bad!" Pansy laughed. "Anyway, I don't know about you, but I am _starving. _Should we head over to the Great Hall?"

"Yeah, we have to take the first years there anyway to remind them of where they have to go," said Draco.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about them," Pansy laughed. "First years, follow us to the Great Hall, please!"

They led the first years to the Great Hall, and took their usual seats. Draco sighed when he looked across the Hall and noticed that Ron Weasley was _still _glaring at him. Did the redhead have nothing better to do or something?

"Pansy, what was it exactly that made the Weasel want to constantly glare at me?"

"I don't know myself, Draco," she said, and looked over at Potter and Granger curiously. "It seems as though Granger and Potter are in a bit of a mood with him, from the looks of it. I wonder why? You don't think it's from yesterday, do you?"

"I'm really not sure. I've been wondering what is wrong with them myself."

Draco looked down at the food on the table, uninterested. The thoughts of his dream and what Weasley had said to him the previous day had made him lose his appetite completely. Instead of putting some sort of food on his empty plate, he grabbed the orange juice and poured himself a glass. Pansy put down the bagel she had just started to eat and looked at him with a mixture of concern and seriousness. She hesitated, before deciding that it was time for her to say something.

"Draco, you really need to eat something. You're becoming seriously underweight."

The blonde sighed, but knew that it was no use arguing with Pansy, and he also knew that she did have a point. He grabbed a slice of toast, and nibbled at it with very small bites. _At least he is actually eating something, _she thought to herself. Even though he only ate one half of the slice and left the other, she felt less concerned about him now that she knew he had something to eat.

Soon enough, it was time for the students to go to their first lesson. Draco's lesson was Potions, which was shared with the Gryffindors. He and Pansy said goodbye to each other, before they parted ways. Draco still adored Potions, though he missed his godfather. He hadn't spoken to him over the summer, and even though he was angry that Severus had actually killed Dumbledore, it still upset him. Severus was the closest he ever had to a father figure.

Before anyone in Professor Slughorn's class could take a seat, he interrupted them.

"I'm sorry everyone, but I feel like you will benefit more if you are not in your friendship groups for this year, so I shall be deciding your partners. So, I think we will be mixing you all up a bit. Let's see... Granger, your partner shall be Nott, while Weasley will be with Zabini. Brown, you shall go with Thomas. Longbottom can go with Greengrass, which leaves Potter with Malfoy. Any questions?"

No one said anything, though he could tell that most of the students were generally not happy with their situation. However, they all sat down by their partners without complaining._ How bloody typical, _Draco thought to himself as he sat down by Potter. _I have to get paired with someone who I've been trying _not _to think about. Ah well, at least it's not Weasley._

"Right, I trust you all have your textbooks with you?" the professor asked, and received a series of nods. "Okay, that is good. We will be starting from the front of the book to the end, thankfully, so turn the pages until we reach Veritaserum. Once we are done, I will have to take them from you in case you end up using them on each other, or a younger year somehow gets hold of it. Understand?"

The students nodded again.

"Alright, all of the ingredients and instructions are listed, so get started."

Draco sighed, looking at Harry.

"Alright, we both know how hopeless at Potions you actually are, without that handy book you had last year. I promise to keep an eye on you, okay?" he said, smirking.

"Oh ha ha, Malfoy. I'm not that bad. Come on, I'll get the cauldron and equipment; you get the ingredients," he said, and walked off. Draco stared at his back as he walked away, surprised at the lack of arguing, or even a sign of him being annoyed. He pondered over this while he gathered the ingredients they needed. Harry returned shortly after, a look of annoyance on his face.

"What's up with you, Potter?"

"It's nothing. Ron has just been acting like a git to me and Hermione," he muttered. _Wait, why am I even telling him this? _Harry thought to himself. _He probably doesn't even care._

"He's being a git to you? How come?"

Harry looked at him, curious as to why he would ask. Was he actually concerned? _No, come on, this is Malfoy. As in, someone who has been your rival since first year and is the son of Lucius Malfoy. Get a grip._

"It doesn't matter."

Draco paused, considering what to say.

"He's forever a git to me. He's actually been glaring at me since you three pretty much ambushed me on the train and on the platform, in fact. I think it's his new goal to not keep his eyes off me for a minute," he said. Harry looked over at Ron, who was indeed, glaring at Malfoy. _He's actually glaring at both of us, _he realised, when he noticed his gaze was actually fixed on both of them. Harry turned back to Draco.

"Just ignore him; he needs to get a grip. Alright, Mr Potions expert, is there anything you need me to do?"

Draco thought he would have said that in a bitter tone, but he actually sounded like he was joking. Perhaps Potter didn't hate him quite as much as he had done previously, or maybe even not at all? Throughout the lesson, they worked well together, even though they didn't speak a lot. Harry's mind was set on figuring out Draco's secret, whatever it may be, while Draco simply enjoyed the boy's presence, hoping it didn't show. The potion they had been making came out brilliant in the end, which shocked Slughorn. He told them that after the 27 days of brewing, it would be perfect.

_Maybe those two can get along better than any of us would have guessed, _he thought as he watched the two students clean up their equipment in silence.

* * *

A couple of weeks later, the first Quidditch game of the season was about to commence. Gryffindor against Slytherin was a great way for them to start.

Draco fidgeted with his Nimbus 2001, trying his best not to let his nervousness show through. He had thought that being back on the team would help distract him from his thoughts, and so accepted Slughorn's request for him to return as the team's Seeker and also be its captain. But now, he realised how much of a bad idea it was. He had been okay in the practices, but they were much less brutal than the actual games. He had expected his injuries to have almost healed by now and so he would be fine, but the bruises and cuts inflicted on his skin had only faded, and his body still ached a lot from the spells and physical damage it had endured. The high amounts of Cruciatus curses being used on him were also still evident, and couldn't be healed with simple charms. He had never dared to use charms on any of his injuries, in fact, since he had been told for years that he had to deal with them and it would have been pathetic for him to avoid that using charms.

He would have been a lot less worried if their opponents had been Hufflepuff, or even Ravenclaw, but the Gryffindor's reckless bravery is what made them often outshine the other teams.

Draco led his team out onto the field, and walked over to the Gryffindor captain, Potter. He gave Draco a smirk, and reached out a hand for him to take.

"Good luck today, Malfoy. You're going to need it!"

"Is that so, Potter? I have a feeling your own luck is going to run out and Slytherin shall be the victor!"

Draco took Harry's hand, and shook it. Their smirks grew, and Draco's worries almost disappeared completely. Despite them slowly starting to move on from their rivalry, even though they still had their fair share of squabbling, that was completely forgotten on the pitch and they were back to being full rivals.

He zoned out while the rules were being told to the teams, which were mainly directed at Slytherin, but as soon as the game started, he was wide awake.

"Alright, first game of the season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin! The Quaffle is thrown into the air, and Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor has got it! She zooms past Vaisey, dodges a Bludger from Crabbe, and passes it to- Wait, Warrington blocked it! He passes it to Nott, who spins round Robins of Gryffindor – very nice – aims for the middle hoop but it is blocked by Ronald Weasley! Great save, Weasley, well done! He passes it to Dean Thomas, and Gryffindor are back in control. He barely scrapes by a Bludger hit by Goyle, and just about manages to throw it through the left hoop! A close call, but ten points to Gryffindor!"

Draco kept his distance from the other players during the game – he didn't want to injure himself any further, and being so far off the ground, as well as trying to focus on searching for the Snitch, was starting to make him feel dizzy. He slowed down his broom, and scanned the field once more. Harry soon joined him, and grinned.

"You alright there, Malfoy? You seem a bit tense to me!"

"I'm fine, just looking out for- WATCH IT!"

Harry and Draco quickly dodged out of the way of an incoming Bludger, sent their way by Crabbe.

"Crabbe of Slytherin seemed to want to try and take out the Gryffindor Seeker there, but Potter managed to evade it! During this distraction, Nott has managed to throw the Quaffle past Weasley and into the hoop, so that is ten points for Slytherin, and now we are tied!"

Draco gripped his head as the dizziness increased after the quick movement. He closed his eyes for a moment when his vision began to darken, and when he opened them, he saw Harry looking at him with concern.

"Malfoy, you okay?"

"I'm fine," Draco replied. His gaze quickly landed on a certain golden ball which was hovering behind Harry's shoulder. The Gryffindor noticed this, and quickly turned around, making the Snitch fly up into the sky. The two of them glanced at each other for a moment, before they began to race after the small object.

"It seems as though both Potter and Malfoy have spotted the Snitch! They've both gone shooting up into the clouds – and now they are both out of sight!"

Harry and Draco flew faster and faster through the clouds, trying to reach for the Snitch. Eventually, however, the ball was out of sight, and they slowed to a stop.

"Damn it! We might as well get back to the pitch," Harry said, about to fly back down through the clouds, but hesitated when he heard no reply. "Malfoy, we- What's wrong?"

The blonde was desperately trying to stay on his broom. A shaking hand clutched at his head, and his face was sweaty and pale. His eyes drooped as though he was struggling to stay conscious.

"I-I..." he said, before his eyes closed completely and his body went limp. Harry quickly rushed over to catch him as he fell off his broom, which fell down to the pitch below.

"Malfoy's broom has just fallen down onto the pitch! But where is its rider?"

Harry ignored the commentary from below and focused on the unconscious form of Malfoy on his broom. _What's made him faint like that all of a sudden? _He asked himself silently. _Is he ill?_

"Malfoy?" he said, shaking him softly. When he got no response and could tell that Malfoy wouldn't be waking any time soon, he focused on positioning him in a more comfortable position. "Hang in there..."

Harry carefully flew down to the pitch, and ignored the collection of gasps from the crowd once he was in their eyesight. He hovered by Madam Hooch, who had beckoned him to fly down to her.

"Potter, what on Earth happened to him?" she cried.

"I don't know, but I'm going to go take him to the hospital wing."

"Wait, Potter-"

But Harry ignored her, as well as the stares from everyone on the pitch, and quickly made his way to the hospital wing. He landed outside of it gracefully, and caught Malfoy before he fell, lifting him up. It was only then that he noticed that not only was Malfoy now smaller than him, he was also extremely light. _How little does he actually eat? _

Madam Pomfrey was clearly shocked at the sight of the Boy-Who-Lived carrying Draco Malfoy into the infirmary in his arms, bridal style, but she quickly hurried over to the two boys.

"Potter, whatever happened?" she questioned, gesturing for him to place Draco onto the nearest bed.

"I don't know, he seemed to be... Well, _off _during the entire game. He kept clutching his head and such, and he fell unconscious after we chased the Snitch. Do you think he could be ill or something?"

"That is a possibility, but I'm not too sure," she said, placing her hand on his forehead. "He has a fever, but I can't explain the shaking."

Harry looked down at one of Draco's hands. The shaking was quite subtle, but every few seconds, it would twitch.

"I'm sure he was like that on the Hogwarts Express yesterday," he murmured.

"I can't be certain, but it seems like it could be an affect from the Cruciatus curse."

"The Cruciatus curse?" Harry echoed, tilting his head at her. "Who on Earth would cast a _Crucio _on him?"

"Well, I can't imagine he was having the best of times living with Death Eaters over the summer. He never completed his task, so maybe that is why he would have been attacked by that?"

Harry couldn't believe that the thought had never crossed his mind. Not _once _did he think about how dangerous it might have been for Draco living in his own home. It wasn't exactly an unpopular fact that a lot of the Death Eaters were relentless, and certainly wouldn't be afraid to hit a teenager with a Crucio. But how come his father didn't stop the attacks?

"His body is also very weak, and not just from the Cruciatus," she said as she cast a spell to show her his injuries. "He's covered in a concealing charm, but that only conceals the appearance of his body. This spell is allowing me to see through it and see his injuries. They've almost healed, but it is covered in bruises and cuts. His body itself must be under a lot of pain, and he even has a cracked rib, though I can heal that easily. There is some damage, however, that even I can't heal."

"How has he ended up in this sort of state?" Harry asked, staring at Malfoy in disbelief.

"Perhaps for the same reason – Death Eaters aren't afraid of hurting people. But during previous times of him being here, I've noticed damage to his body then. It was nowhere near as bad as it is now, but it was still there."

"Why would he-"

"Ugh, my head..."

Harry and Madam Pomfrey both looked at Draco, who was now sitting up and holding his head.

"Malfoy, what happened to you out there?" Harry asked. Draco sighed, and shrugged his shoulders.

"I was just not feeling right through the whole match. I was really dizzy and such, and I guess my head couldn't take it after we chased after that Snitch."

"I had to do a test on your body to see the cause," Pomfrey started. "And I saw that your body is extremely injured. How did this happen?"

Draco's eyes widened, and he hesitated for a few moments before he spoke.

"I... Well, I guess you can work out yourself that I'm not exactly liked very much in the inner circle."

"They did all of that to you?" Harry asked.

"...Yes."

"Draco, I need to know if you're telling the truth," Pomfrey said. "Did the Death Eaters do this to you, and was that the reason why you weren't well enough to compete?"

"Okay... Yes, they did, and yes. Can I go now? I feel _fine._"

"Well, your fever has gone down..." she said, pressing his forehead. "But I think it might be best if you rested for a while, even if it's in your own room. And, of course, I forbid you to play Quidditch from now on, at least until your injuries have healed more."

"That's fine, I wasn't planning on playing anyway," Draco said. He got up off the bed, a little too quickly, and stumbled. Harry caught his arm to stop him from falling.

"Draco, are you alright?" he asked, surprising himself from using the Slytherin's given name. It felt weird for him to say it.

"I'm fine; it was just a dizzy spell."

"Harry, I think it might be best for you to take him there, just in case," said Madam Pomfrey.

"I will do," said Harry, nodding.

"I can go by myself-"

"Come on, let's go," he interrupted, and the two of them left the infirmary.

Luckily, the corridors were empty, due to it being dinnertime. They walked to the dungeons in silence, though it was a comfortable silence, rather than an awkward one.

"Are you sure you are alright?" Harry said once they were stood outside of the common room. "I mean, do you need me to help you to your room, or keep you company or something?"

_Keep him company? What the hell is wrong with me?_

"I'm too exhausted, but... If you ever need company, just come here."

"Wait, are you serious?" Harry asked, staring at Draco. The blonde blushed slightly, and shrugged.

"Well... Yeah. You _did _catch me out there and all, even though you really didn't have any reason to help me. It's the least I can do. The password is Anguis, if you ever need to use it."

"Okay... Sure, that sounds good, I suppose," Harry replied, smiling slightly. "I better get off to the Great Hall, now. Ron and Hermione are probably wondering why I'm taking so long.

"Yeah, that's true," Draco said. Harry began to walk away, but Draco called after him before he had a chance to stop himself. "Harry?"

Harry turned, looking at him, questioning what he was going to say.

"What is it?"

"Can we..." Draco paused. "Can we be... Friends?"

Harry smiled softly, and he replied without even thinking about what he was saying.

"Yeah, sure."

_Even though he has been a git to us for years, AND he is a Death Eater, I still say yes to his request to put all that aside and be friends? What is wrong with me?_

However, the thought of what had happened over the summer had changed his look on Draco. The poor boy must have been terrified through the whole of the break. Sure, Harry had hated summers for a lot of his years in school, but he had never had to worry about something as big as _that._ Madam Pomfrey had also said that in the past, Draco had injuries then. So what had caused them?

He knew that he had to find out, otherwise the thought would drive him insane.

* * *

This was actually a pretty decent length!

Thanks to all who have shown their support of the story! Your feedback and people reading this is what keeps me motivated to keep writing. Feel free to click that review button and leave me a few words. It helps a lot!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Until next time.


	4. Truth Revealed

So it seems as though I am back to updating on a Monday!

I have decided that I am going to raise the rating to M in the next few chapters. The only reason why I haven't done it so far is because I thought more people would be able to find this story if it is rated T, and I haven't needed to raise it yet. But, I will need to raise it at some point, considering there will be mature themes.

I think T is high enough for now though, right?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Thanks for the reviews on the last one!

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Four – Truth Revealed

* * *

Draco plagued Harry's thoughts as he walked down the corridors after he walked the Slytherin to the dungeons. He could hardly believe that Draco had actually requested to be _friends, _and he barely even understood why he said _yes. _Since he saw that something was going on with Draco on the train, he wanted to figure out what was going on in his life. He already knew of the attacks from the other Death Eaters, in his own home, of all places, but was there more? It seemed, also, that this wasn't the only reason why Harry had said yes.

In their sixth year, Harry had noticed a change in Draco. He was still arrogant, and yet, it was different. When Harry had found him in the girls' bathroom, not only was he crying, he was crying to Moaning Myrtle. The mere thought of Draco even being in Myrtle's presence would have made Harry cry of laughter years ago. Last year, was Draco so worn out with his task that he needed to seek comfort from her? The memory of him starting to lower his wand on top of the Astronomy tower also flashed in his mind. It was clear that Draco didn't want to be in that position. He was scared, and he even seemed scared now.

It was becoming clear to Harry now that there was more than what meets the eye to Draco. This didn't just make Harry find out what the Slytherin was hiding, he found himself wanting to _help _him. He didn't even know what he could do, or what Draco was being secretive about, but he still wanted to help him. Perhaps it was his heroic instinct, but he also found himself feeling hatred towards whatever – or whoever – was causing Draco pain.

He found himself standing outside the Great Hall, which made him snap out of his thoughts. Ron and Hermione gestured for him to come over, and he took his usual seat across from them on the Gryffindor table. He and Hermione had started to forgive Ron for his unneeded outburst, but Harry was still angry at him for what he had said in Hogsmeade.

"Did the game continue after we- after _I _left?" he asked them.

"Yeah, it did," said Ron. "They had substitute Seekers. Slytherin won, though."

"What happened out there, Harry?" Hermione questioned. "We were just watching the game, and then Malfoy's broom flew down and smashed against the ground, followed by you with Malfoy, unconscious, on _your _broom!"

"It's a bit complicated, over the sum-"

He stopped, and looked around to find that a lot of people were watching them; obviously listening to what he was going to say. Somehow, he knew that Draco didn't want people to overhear Harry talking about what had happened to him over the summer.

"Listen, I don't want to explain it here..."

"Oh, that makes sense. You're not going to tell your best friends, since first year, about something which happened with your rival since first year? You've been friends with that git more than you have been with me, as of late!"

"I did say _here, _Ron! I don't really fancy spilling secrets about someone without them knowing around the whole of the school. If you were to actually listen to me for a change, then you would understand that. Wow, I love how you call him a 'git', and yet he's actually been more respectable towards me. He seems to be acting more of a _friend _than you have recently."

Everyone in the Hall was watching them by this point, clearly shocked by two members of the Golden Trio arguing about Draco Malfoy.

"Come on boys, leave it until later!" Hermione said in a harsh whisper when she noticed this. However, they ignored her completely.

"That's _exactly _what I'm talking about, Harry! How can you possibly say that about him? He's a _Death Eater! _Bloody hell, how can you even trust someone like him? Are you really that stupid?"

"I can't deny that he is a Death Eater, we all know that. But if that was all there was to it, why would Dumbledore request for him to come back? Does that stand for nothing? And you're just seeing him as a Death Eater, well, guess what, Ron? He's also a _person. _He has feelings; he struggles with life just like we do, probably even more. Until you realise that, I don't even know how I'm going to cope with you. Oh, and if I'm stupid, I don't know what that makes _you._"

The watching students gasped loudly at this, clearly shocked at his words. Harry got up from his seat, and stormed out of the Great Hall, ignoring Ron's fuming glare and the stares of everyone else. He kept walking, but stopped when he realised he had no idea where he was going. He thought for a moment, before he decided to go down to the Slytherin Dungeons. He knew that he had only just saw Draco, but the only other place he could go was his room, and he wanted to talk to someone. He started walking again, this time at a slightly faster pace, until he was stood outside the snake-covered door.

"Anguis," he said, and watched as the door opened, revealing the large green common room. It hadn't changed much from his second year, but there had certainly been some improvements. He actually felt excitement over the fact that he was in the rival house's common room, not as Goyle, but as himself.

He looked across the room, and spotted three staircases leading downwards. Considering the middle staircase led to the upper years' and prefects' rooms in the Gryffindor Tower, he naturally presumed it was the same sort of layout in the Slytherin Dungeons. He stepped down the steps, and when he saw the older years' rooms, saw that his theory was correct. He walked down a smaller staircase at the end of the corridor, walked past Pansy's room and towards Draco's. He raised his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, knocked on the door.

"Are you in there, Draco?" he called. He didn't receive a reply, but then heard a few muffled sobs coming from inside the room.

"Draco?" he said more softly, before opening the door. He walked in to find Draco crouched on the floor by his bed, clutching a crumpled letter in his hand, tears stained on his face.

"H-Harry?" the curled up Slytherin whispered, barely looking up at Harry.

"Draco, what's wrong?"

The only reply he got from Draco was another sob. It was so strange for him to see Draco like this, crying, looking so vulnerable and lost.

"Tell me what's wrong, Draco," Harry said. He crouched down besides his new friend, his hand resting on the boy's shoulder.

"H-He said... I can't do it, Harry. I can't do any of this anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I've had enough going on, and then..."

Draco looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. Harry peered over to look at it, frowning in confusion.

"It's blank..."

"No, it's not," Draco said, shaking his head. "It's charmed."

"What does it say?"

"_Dear Draco,_

_I do hope that you were not oblivious to what I told you before you left?_

_Yesterday evening, I was summoned by the Dark Lord to inform you that the plans for your next task are currently being made. It is a task that will be very important in making our side succeed, and you should take serious note of this, because as much as you seem to want to not be with us, your _family, _you are on this side. _

_Your task to kill Dumbledore was indeed difficult, but this will be even more so, he told me to tell you that. If you fail to succeed this task, then even I am afraid at what would happen to you._

_I have charmed this letter so that only you can read it, and have also used a different owl to avoid it being tracked. I must also ask you to destroy this letter after you read it to avoid anyone somehow discovering its existence._

_I do recommend that you attempt to enjoy your time at school while you are able to, because there will be no more fun and games after you come home for the holidays. _

_Sincerely, your father."_

"Your... Your father had sent you that?"

Draco nodded, staring down at the piece of parchment, his face still wet from tears.

Harry could hardly believe what he just heard. How can Draco's own father seem so relaxed about something like this, and say it in such an uncaring way? If Draco couldn't complete his task, then he would be killed, no doubt. So why would his father talk to him like this?

"Draco, why would your father-"

They both looked up when there was a knock on the door, and Harry felt Draco tense up immediately. The door opened, and Pansy Parkinson stepped into the room, looking at Harry, confused.

"What is he doing here?"

"Did you not overhear the argument?" Harry asked, and Pansy shook her head.

"No, I was in the bathroom, but I heard something about you and Ron arguing and I wanted to tell- Hang on, you didn't answer my question."

"Pansy, do you want to sit down so I can explain?" Draco asked, wiping his eyes. It was only then that Pansy realised he had been crying.

"Draco, are you alright?" she asked, looking worried.

"I'll explain that to you, too," he said. She nodded, and took a seat in Draco's armchair, facing the two boys. "To start off with, Harry and I have been more civil with each other as of late and we've kind of become friends..."

"Right, okay... Why were you crying?"

Harry couldn't help but feel respect for Pansy, despite how she had treated Hermione in the past. She had just accepted his and Draco's friendship, and quickly moved on to see what was wrong with Draco. He could tell she was a very loving and caring friend.

"Father sent me a letter..."

He read out the letter again, and Pansy looked extremely concerned after he had finished.

"When did you get this?"

"Right after Harry escorted me here."

"If it's something that's worse than killing Dumbledore... Oh Salazar, what if you can't do it? _Him, _the Dark Lord, the Death Eaters... Draco, you can't go back there!"

"Him? Who do you mean by him?" Harry asked.

Pansy looked at Draco.

"Does he not know about you-know-what?"

Draco shook his head. Harry looked between them, questioning what they were talking about.

"Should I tell him, Draco? If you trust him, then so do I."

"No, it's okay... I will."

"Tell me what?" Harry questioned.

Draco paused and inhaled deeply before he spoke.

"S-Since I was young, father... Father has abused me, a lot," he started. Harry's eyes widened. "He hits me for everything I do wrong, as well as abusing me mentally. It used to be just with his fists, feet, or his cane, but once I got to about ten, if I ever did something he redeemed as worthy of it, he would cast the Cruciatus curse on me."

Harry tried to say something, but no words came out. Never had he suspected that this was what Draco had coped with all of his life. Sure, it was always obvious that his father was strict, but he never realised it was like that for him. Harry had been mentally abused and left without food before by the Dursley's, but he knew that it was something he could move on from easily, which he had already done. Judging by what Madam Pomfrey had said to Harry, it seemed as though Draco's abuse wasn't something he could move on from as easily.

"Over the summer, he hurt me less often, but when he did, it was fairly brutal. However, he left most of it to the Death Eaters, as you already know. He even... He even..."

"What, Draco?"

"He even laughed in my face when he found out that one of the Death Eaters... H-Had raped me."

Harry felt very nauseous by this point. How on Earth could somebody treat their own son like that, if that happened to them? It was terrible – he was a monster.

"Draco, I'm so sorry... I need to help you..."

"It's okay, there's nothing you can do to help," Draco said.

"But, Draco-"

"No, Harry. You can't tell _anyone_ this. If he found out, he'll be even worse, I know it."

"There is no use arguing with him, Harry," Pansy said. "He's stubborn."

"Wait, Harry?" the Gryffindor repeated, looking at her in slight shock.

"That's your name, is it not?" she chuckled. "Seriously though, like I said before, if Draco trusts you, so do I. He needs all the support he can get right now."

"I really do appreciate it. Thank you," Draco smiled. He looked over at his alarm clock, and quickly turned back to Harry. "Shit, they'll be having dessert now! You better go before the Slytherins come back here."

"Alright, I'll get going," he said. He paused for a moment before he wrapped his arms around Draco and pulled him into a hug. "I'm here for you, okay? Even if you won't let me help you, I'm here."

"Thank you," Draco murmured softly. Harry pulled away, smiled at him and pansy, before he left the room.

"Ooh, the two of you are getting close, eh?" Pansy said, winking.

"Oh, shut up," Draco laughed.

* * *

After Harry had left the Slytherin Dungeons, Draco and Pansy made their way down to the common room to avoid any suspicions. However, when all of the Slytherins returned, they were staring at him. _What exactly did Harry and Weasley argue about? _He thought to himself. He was, quite literally, soon knocked out of his thoughts when a fuming Crabbe and Goyle stormed over to him and roughly shoved him.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head, which had hit the wall behind him.

"What's wrong with _us?_ We have the same question about you!" Goyle exclaimed, with Crabbe nodding by his side.

"Do you have any reason _why _you became friends with Harry Potter? Of all people, Malfoy! You're supposed to be a Death Eater, aren't you? So why him?" Crabbe demanded.

"How... How do you know about that?"

"Everybody knows about it," Blaise Zabini said quietly from an armchair. "It's the reason for Weasley's and Potter's argument in the Great Hall."

Pansy looked at Draco, a worried expression on her face. Draco, however, was more angry than worried.

"Since when has it been up to you who I am friends with or not? I don't give a crap what you or anyone else thinks about it. He's been a better friend to me these past couple of weeks than most of you here have been all these years!"

"It's really nice that you feel that way, Malfoy, but..." Goyle smirked at Crabbe. "Well, I can think of _one _person who you _do _give a crap about what he thinks."

"Yeah, that's right. I wonder what _he _would think about this," Crabbe laughed.

"Ha, wait 'til your father hears about this, Malfoy."

The two of them laughed, as did some other Slytherins nearby, but they didn't realise how much fury Draco felt from those words. The blonde pounced onto Goyle, knocking him to the ground.

"Don't you dare tell him, you bastard!" he shouted, as he punched the boy several times. It was a strange feeling for him to not be on the receiving end, for once. He wasn't in control for long, however, when Crabbe pulled Draco off Goyle and threw him into the nearest wall, and began to throw his own punches. Pansy knew that Draco's body shouldn't deal with this damage while it is already healing, and tried to throw the large boy off him, but to no prevail. To her delight, however, Blaise had run over to help her. She smiled at him gratefully.

"What on Earth is going on in here?"

The students looked over to see Professor McGonagall standing in the doorway, looking furious when she saw Draco on the floor, with Pansy and Blaise shielding him from Crabbe.

"Malfoy started it, Miss, by hitting Gregory first..."

"I am not in the mood for your childish reasons for what you did! He is clearly in a worse state right now. Sixty points will be taken from you, and you will have detention with me for the rest of the week. Get to your rooms! And that goes to the rest of you!" she shouted, looking at the rest of the students. They all did as they were told, except for Pansy, who was helping Draco up off the floor.

"Are you alright, Malfoy?" McGonagall asked. "Do you need to go to the nurse?"

"No, I'm alright. I can just wash myself off in my bathroom. It's nothing major."

"Alright, if you say so... You should both head up to bed, now."

The two of them nodded, and walked down to their rooms. Pansy smiled at him when they made it to their floor.

"Would you like any company, Draco? I don't mind."

"I'm fine, Pansy, don't worry about me. I'm pretty tired from earlier, actually. I'm going to clean up and then get to bed."

"Alright, sweet dreams, Draco," she said, nodding in understanding.

"Goodnight."

He made his way to his bathroom, and began to wash away the blood from Crabbe's attack. He only had a couple of bruises – nothing he couldn't handle. He had dealt with much worse in the past.

After this, he changed into his nightclothes, and went straight into bed. He thought sleep, as it usually did, would take a while to come, but he drifted off into sleep only minutes after getting into bed.

* * *

"_Hey there!" said a little blonde-haired boy to a red-haired boy, who looked like he was around the same age._

"_Oh, hello!" the other boy responded, smiling. "What's your name?"_

"_My name is Draco, what's yours?"_

"_Ronald, but everyone calls me Ron."_

"_It's nice to meet you, Ron!"_

"_You too, Draco!"_

"_You're really nice to me. Do you want to be friends?"_

"_I would-"_

"_Draco Malfoy! What are you doing, talking to scum like that?" Lucius Malfoy ran over, pulling the shaking blonde towards him roughly._

"_I-I only want to be friends..." _

"_The Weasleys are _not _friends! Do you hear me?"_

"_Y-Yes father..."_

"_Ron, what are you doing near the Malfoys?" said Molly Weasley, rushing to her son's side. "Get away from them, love."_

"_But we're friends!"_

"_No, the Malfoys aren't our friends, they are bad people and you need to stay away from them. Do you understand?"_

"_Yes mum, I understand."_

"_Come on, Draco, we do not speak to scum like them," said Lucius._

"_I'm coming, father," Draco replied. He looked at Ron for a second before Lucius pulled him by his hand around the nearest corner, by Narcissa. He looked around quickly, before he slapped his son hard across the face._

"_Lucius!" Narcissa gasped, looking at her husband angrily._

"_F-Father, that hurt," Draco whispered, tears forming in his eyes._

"_Lucius, why did you do that?" Narcissa asked, putting an arm around her son._

"_He thinks it is alright to be friends with the Weasleys!"_

"_There was no need for you to-"_

"_The child needs to learn, Narcissa," Lucius said. "A little slap isn't going to do any harm."_

"_F-Father, I didn't know that-"_

"_Well, you know now, don't you? If you _ever _speak to another Weasley in that manner again, then you're going to be in very serious trouble! Understand, Draco?" he hissed in a threatening whisper._

"_I-I understand, father."_

* * *

Draco woke up, gasping for air. He had worse memories from his childhood, but this one had always been the one which he had memorised the most. It was the first time that Lucius had ever laid a hand on Draco. He had only been three years old, and he had just wanted to make some friends. Luckily, it seemed as though Ron had never remembered their encounter, and his parents must have either forgotten about it, or just never mentioned it. Draco, however, remembered it very clearly.

He reached over to grab his wand from its usual place on his bedside cabinet, as it was too dark for him to see his clock.

"_Lumos," _he whispered, blinking when the bright light appeared from his wand. He pointed his wand over at the clock, and saw that the time was only 2:05. He sighed and released the light. After his dream, he didn't really want to sleep, in case he was hit with another memory. A sudden idea then came to him, and he grinned.

With a flick of his wand, the main light in his room switched on, and he went over to his bookcase. He scanned the shelves until he found the book he was looking for – 'Mastering the Art of an Animagus'. A few months back, he had started to feel a strange desire to master this ability. He started to learn about it and how he can transform safely. He felt like he was ready, and decided to give it a try. Being as it was his first time attempting the transformation, he picked up his wand to assist him. He closed his eyes, and concentrated greatly on changing correctly. Soon, he began to feel a strange tingling sensation through his body. He smiled slightly, and allowed the transformation to take place. When the feeling stopped, he opened his eyes, and looked into his mirror. If he was able to gasp, he would have done.

Surprisingly, due to his belief that he might not have been able to pull of the transformation, it had worked perfectly. Draco was now in the form of a gorgeous white fox, with large grey eyes on an adorable face. He lifted his front right paw, and was amazed at how he was able to control his new body so easily. Feeling much happier than he did after waking up from his dream, he began to walk around his bedroom and bathroom, eager to try out his four legs. _I wonder how Pansy and Harry would react if they saw me like this, _he thought to himself, grinning slightly in his animal form. After about half an hour of being in this form, he began to feel tired, and so concentrated on turning back into his human form. He transformed rather quickly, to his surprise, being as he thought it would take much more effort than it did, especially as he was very tired. He yawned loudly, and collapsed into his bed. Only mere minutes later, he was soon fast asleep, and instead of nightmares, dreamt about running through a beautiful forest in the form of an equally beautiful white fox.

* * *

Ah, I prefer this ending more to the one in the original story.

I'm quickly going to say this because I'm so happy about it! But I actually have... *drum roll* ... A _boyfriend. _WOW.

Seriously though, he's absolutely lovely. I've known him for about four years, and about a year and a half ago we were together and now we are trying again. He's much more mature now (he's seventeen) and it's great. My last relationship was with a girl who could be the first person I consider myself to have actually loved. We were together twice, but each time she never seemed to care about it as much as I do and I seemed to be someone who she was with before she found a guy she wanted to be with, especially the second time, being as she found someone new very quickly. But I'm glad that he is much better for me... Even though he started his two-week holiday on Friday .

Anyway, I'm sorry, you probably don't care about that xD I just really like you guys because you're really nice to me and- Okay, I'll shut up.

As usual, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please feel free to review!


	5. In Denial

So this chapter is a little early! As I didn't really change this chapter too much than the one in the old version, it didn't take me very long. I've basically just improved the grammar, extended a couple parts, and made it generally better.

I also made something we learn about Draco in this chapter make more sense to the story later on, unlike in the last version where it seemed fairly random.

Anyway, here is the chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Five: In Denial

* * *

Draco woke up in a positive mood that morning. His accomplishment last night and his pleasant dreams was certainly a nice change to his usual nightmares and worrying. After he and Pansy got themselves dressed, they met up with each other in their corridor. She took note of his happiness, and smiled at him.

"Good morning, Dray! You're certainly in a better mood than last night. Would you care to enlighten me why?" she said, her smile growing.

"All in good time, Pans. Shall we go and get some breakfast?" he asked. "For once, I'm actually feeling fairly hungry."

"Wow, that's a surprise! We might as well, then. Hey, you should be in a mood like this one more often; it suits you!" she exclaimed. Draco laughed at this as they made their way down to the common room.

He almost laughed aloud when he saw that Crabbe and Goyle were in the corner of the room, glaring at him. A smirk did appear on his face, however, when he saw that a bruise was forming on Goyle's face, which was bigger than he thought it was going to be.

"Oi, Malfoy!"

Draco sighed and turned around to look down at the annoying first year.

"Yes, Dickens?"

"Why the hell are you friends with Harry Potter? You didn't even answer Crabbe properly yesterday!" he demanded. The other students looked at Draco, wondering what his answer was going to be.

"Because I am, Dickens. Is there a problem with that? Personally, I'd rather be friends with him than most of you here. It's actually rather nice having a couple of friends who don't want to stab you in the back at the first opportunity they get. Perhaps some of you should try being that sort of friend, sometime."

He grinned, particularly at Crabbe and Goyle, before he and Pansy left the common room and headed to the Great Hall.

* * *

Draco and Pansy sat further away from their usual seats that morning, to stay a little further away from some of the other Slytherins. He sighed when he saw a few of the looks Harry was getting from others on the Gryffindor table, and even a couple from the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. There were still people talking to him, however, but Draco still felt like the glares from others was unneeded, especially from Weasley, who was supposed to be Harry's friend.

"I honestly don't see why people are making such a big deal out of Harry and I being friends. I know it is a huge change from our rivalry, but surely it can be seen as a good thing? And I'm sure there's more things out there that are more shocking than this," he whispered to Pansy, who sighs.

"Neither do I, Draco. I personally think that people should just get over it. Haven't they thought that if you had the chance to swap sides somehow, then you would being close to Harry could actually help? You and Harry would make an excellent team."

"I haven't actually thought about that, Pansy, but you do have a good point. We are quite gifted in Defence Against the Dark Arts, we're both Pars- ... We both have the same abilities too," he said hurriedly. _I seriously need to stop spilling my secrets out, _he scolded himself.

"Draco, you're..." she looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening to their conversation, and dropped her voice to a quiet whisper. "A _Parselmouth?"_

He hesitated for a moment, before he nodded slowly.

"Merlin, Draco! You do realise how rare that is?" she said, looking excited.

"Yeah, of course I do... It's weird, though."

"What do you mean? I just see it as lucky."

"Well, yes, it could be considered lucky. But what's weird is that I only found myself being able to understand Parseltongue and be able to speak it is on my 17th birthday. I've never been able to even understand a little of it before then. So why only once I turned seventeen?"

"That is actually pretty strange," she said, looking a little puzzled. "I thought you were born with the ability, or developed it at a very young age? I'm never heard of someone being able to understand it once they turn seventeen."

"That's what I thought..."

"I bet you were shocked about discovering you could suddenly understand snakes when you woke up!" she chuckled.

"Of course, especially when you discover it by being able to understand what the Dark Lord is saying to his own snake and hearing its reply."

"Wow, that's incredible," she said. "What were they saying?"

"Nothing pleasant," he said, shuddering slightly at the memory of Nagini attacking the Muggle Studies professor.

"You have to tell Harry!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I might as well, considering I seem to be blurting out most of my secrets."

* * *

"Wait a second, you're a _what?_"

"Keep your voice down!"

Harry and Draco were walking down to Hagrid's hut together, ready for their Care of Magical Creatures lesson, which they luckily shared with only a few other students. Draco had always had a love for the class, as he adored creatures. When his father had demanded why he had taken it, Draco managed to convince him that the more classes he was a part of, the better, and if he learned more about creatures it could assist him with helping the dark side in the war.

"Sorry, but... You're a Parselmouth?" Harry whispered.

"Yes, I am."

"Why are you keeping it a secret?"

"I just really don't want it being spread around, and I especially don't want my father finding out about it," Draco replied.

"Why would it be bad if he knew?" Harry asked.

"Well, it's pretty strange really," said Draco. "At a few points in my life he has asked me if I am a Parselmouth, and didn't seem convinced when I told him no. The last time he asked was on my birthday, where he seemed even more serious. I was worried, so I said no again, and he seemed to believe me. I don't understand why he's asked me this."

"That _is_ strange. So you've lied to him your whole life about it?"

"No, I've only ever lied to him once about it," he answered, chuckling when Harry looked confused. "I woke up on my seventeenth birthday to find that I can speak and understand Parseltongue."

"Wow, that's so weird. I've never heard of that before."

"I know, that's what Pansy said."

They both quickly caught up to the rest of the students at the hut. Not a huge lot of people had taken the class when it had returned, and it only consisted of Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and a couple of Hufflepuffs they weren't very familiar with. Both Draco and Harry were happy with this – it meant less stares for both of them.

"Alright, class! I have a very special lesson planned for yer today, so follow me!" Hagrid called out the class, and only looked at Harry and Draco for a brief second before he led the way, with the seven students following close behind.

"Harry, wait up!"

Harry turned around at the sound of his name, and saw Hermione running towards them. She stopped next to Harry, panting slightly.

"What is it, Hermione?" he asked.

"I just wanted to let you know that I am very sorry if it has seemed like I am ignoring you. I obviously still need to accept and adjust to... This," she said, gesturing to Draco. "But I seriously don't want that to stop us from being friends."

"Thank you, but I haven't had a problem with you, Hermione. It's just... Ron."

The three of them look ahead at Ron, who was walking by Neville.

"I know, he's taking it too far. I tried to talk to him, but he's not listening. Anyway, I better go and catch up to him. See you, Harry," she paused, and looked at Draco. "Malfoy."

"See you, Granger," he said, a slight smile on his face. She looked surprised for a moment, before nodding and returned a small smile of her own.

A few minutes later, the class arrived at a landscape which looked oddly familiar to them.

"Hagrid, isn't this the place from third year?" Hermione asked.

"Yer, that's right! Because..." he grinned, and waved a hand over to his left. The students looked in the direction of his hand and gasped. There, standing tall and proud, very much alive and well, was Buckbeak.

"Hagrid... How? I thought he was banned from premises after he had escaped..." Harry said, slightly worried that Hagrid had brought Buckbeak back illegally.

"He _was _banned, Harry. But, Malfoy here helped me arrange to get him back after clearing all charges. Isn't that right?"

Draco nodded, smiling a little, but winced slightly at the thought of what his father had said and done when he found out Draco did this. Harry noticed this, and squeezed his arm softly and smiled at him softly. _He really does care about me, _Draco thought to himself. _I wonder if he would ever- No, Draco, stop thinking about that. You said to yourself that you wouldn't think about that this year._

"Malfoy did that?" Ron spluttered, looking at Draco in disbelief.

"Yer, he did, Ron. Anyway, we're goin' to do things differently this time! After everyone has gained Buckbeak's trust, you will ride him in pairs, with one person on their own," Hagrid said. He looked at Harry and Draco, before he continued. "How about you both go first?"

Harry took a step towards Buckbeak and bowed to him. The hippogriff bowed back, and happily nudged Harry with his beak when Harry walked to him, clearly remembering the boy. Harry laughed delightedly, and gently stroked the grey feathers.

"Alright, it's your turn, Malfoy," Hagrid said hesitantly. Everyone looked at the Slytherin, naturally remembering the incident from third year. What they didn't know, however, was what happened that night.

Draco had managed to escape from the hospital wing, and go out to Hagrid's hut to find Buckbeak tied up outside it. The hippogriff was very wary of Draco at first, but he took the time to bow until he gained the trust of Buckbeak. He went on to apologise to the creature as he stroked its feathers, and he could tell that it had accepted his apology.

He took a step forward and bowed to Buckbeak, and to everyone's amazement, including Harry's, the hippogriff bowed back straight away and trotted over to the blonde, rubbing its face into Draco's robes. He chuckled and stroked its head softly.

"Long time no see," he whispered quietly.

"...Right then. Come on you two; let's get yer both up there."

He put Harry onto the creature's back first, and then Draco, who slipped his arms around the taller boy's waist. A rush of excitement went through him, and he couldn't wait until they were in the sky.

"Are yer both ready?" Hagrid asked, and when he received two nods, sent the hippogriff off into the air.

The blonde laughed and yelled as they flew higher and higher into the air, making Harry laugh also. Buckbeak flew them to the Black Lake and glided across it, just like he did with Harry in their third year. Draco looked into the clear water of the lake and smiled at the reflection of himself and Harry. He had never felt so carefree, so _happy _in his life before. The atmosphere of flying with Harry on Buckbeak, with the beautiful scenery and the wind blowing through their hair, was amazing. This feeling was one which he could never forget. Harry turned around at one moment to look at the Slytherin and smiled. It wasn't one of concern or relief, it was simply a large, friendly smile, a smile which made Draco blush slightly and look away. _This is bad; this is really, really bad. Didn't I tell myself that I was going to stay away from Harry this year? It would be easier that way, easier to forget him. But then... He is also making me feel a kind of happiness I've never felt before._

They landed far sooner than both of them would have liked, but the ride on Buckbeak was still amazing while it lasted. Hagrid smiled at them, before turning to Ron and Hermione.

"Do you two want to go next?" he asked.

"If Malfoy can bloody do it, of course we can! Come on, Hermione!" Ron grumbled. She chuckled and nodded at him, but when he went to bow to Buckbeak, she turned around and rolled her eyes at Harry, earning a smirk from him back. Soon enough, the couple mounted the hippogriff and they shot into the air. Draco sighed in relief.

"Oh thank Merlin, I've had enough glares off him today to last me a lifetime," he whispered to Harry, who chuckled.

"So yer both friends now?" asked Hagrid, looking at the two of them. They both nod. "Right then, this will take a while to get used to... I hope yer know what yer doing, Harry."

"Don't worry, Hagrid, I do," Harry replied, smiling.

"I guess Ron is holding a grudge?"

"Yeah, but Hermione isn't."

"I am fine with her," Draco muttered. "It's Weasley I can't stand right now."

"Well, I guess he'll come around... If you can trust him, I'm sure he can, too," Hagrid said, looking a little sceptical.

"Maybe eventually, but you know how stubborn he is."

"Yer, that's true... How did you both even become friends, anyway?" he asked, curiously.

"Uh, well..." Harry started, not too sure on what to say. Luckily, they were interrupted by Buckbeak landing by them with Ron and Hermione on his back.

"Well done, you two!" Hagrid exclaimed, helping the two Gryffindors off Buckbeak's back.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron laughed, holding onto Hermione's hand.

"It was certainly thrilling," Hermione agreed, smiling.

"Great! Alright, Neville, do you want to..."

Draco had stopped paying attention to what was going on around him by this point. He kept glancing over at the emerald-eyed boy standing next to him, getting embarrassed every time Harry caught his eye and smiled.

_All these feelings have only ever caused me more stress, but now I'm friends with him? This seriously couldn't get any worse for me..._

* * *

That evening, dinner in the Great Hall was certainly awkward for Draco. The majority of Gryffindors had forgiven Harry by now, as he was the Chosen One, people couldn't stay mad at him for long. Some of them probably suspected that Harry just wanted to try to get information to help the light side, anyway. As for Ron, he had started to speak to Harry again after a stern word from Hermione, and said he was fine being friends with Harry as long as Ron himself didn't have to be around Draco. But as for Draco, almost all of the Slytherins hated the fact that their so-called 'Slytherin Prince' was friends with Harry Potter, and so it was harder for him. To top it off, every time a certain raven-haired Gryffindor from across the Hall caught eye contact, Draco had to look away before a blush would allow itself to form across his usually pale skin, with a smile, of course. The least he could do was try to stop his classmates from getting suspicious. Luckily, nobody seemed to notice anything as Draco was generally a good actor, but he couldn't hide anything from Pansy.

"Draco, is everything alright?"

As soft as it was, Pansy's voice startled him straight out of his daydreams. He sat up, looking at her a little shocked from his thoughts being interrupted.

"Uh, what did you say?"

"I was asking if you're alright," she laughed.

"Oh, yeah... Yeah, I am. I'm just... Uh, daydreaming. About... nothing. Don't worry, I'm fine," he babbled.

"Is there something you aren't telling me, Draco?" she asked, winking.

"What? No, no there is _not! _I was just daydreaming about... Um, riding Buckbeak earlier. It was amazing," he said. _Yeah, and so was the guy you had your arms wrapped around. _He accidently released a groan and placed his head into his arms. He didn't raise his head again until he heard Pansy start to giggle.

"Merlin, what is it now?" he moaned.

"If I didn't know any better, Draco... I would say you're in love!" she giggled.

"_What? _I am not in- Keep your voice _down, _Pansy!" he said in a harsh whisper. He quickly looked around them to see if anyone was eavesdropping, but a lot of them had left due to dinner almost being over.

"Ah, so it _is _true! I knew it!" she giggled again.

"W-What? _No, _I just don't want any rumours going around!"

_How bad would that be, people discovering that you are in love with the Boy-Who-Lived?_

"So who is he then, Draco?" she winked at him.

"No one, Pansy! I am not in love with _anyone_, okay?" he said, but his friend saw where his eyes glanced just before he spoke.

"You like Harry? Aw, that is so sweet, Dray!" she cooed. Draco blushed, slowly questioning how he had put up with her for so many years.

"I do _not _like Harry, Pansy!"

"The fact that you are trying to deny it just makes you even _more _adorable!"

"I-I am not denying _anything, _and don't call me adorable!"

"Aw, you're going red, Draco. Bless you!"

"Pansy, stop it!"

"Not until you admit that you like Harry..."

"I don-"

"You look the cutest right now, Draco. You don't look as hot as you do normally when you're blushing! I thought your favourite colour is green, not red?"

"Pansy, sto-"

"Oh wait, of course it's green! I understand it now. Harry's eyes, glistening as bright as emeralds! Of _course _green is your favourite colour! Why didn't I guess it _before?" _

"Alright, alright! I like Harry, okay? Are you happy now?"

She squealed, bouncing in her seat.

"Of course I am happy now! Do you realise how unbelievably _cute _this is, Draco?"

"You told me you would stop if I admitted it!" Draco groaned, burying his head back into his arms.

* * *

"Hermione and I are going to go and, uh, do homework. Is that okay?" Ron asked Harry, who nodded in response.

"Thanks. See you, mate!"

"Bye Harry," Hermione said. Harry smiled and waved goodbye to his friends. He was eating rather slowly today for some reason, even though it was his favourite – treacle tart. He looked over to the Slytherin table and caught Draco's eyes. He smiled, and got a quick smile in response before the blonde quickly looked down at his plate... His very empty plate.

"Um, Harry?"

He turned around, and smiled at Neville, who was standing behind him.

"What is it, Neville?"

The boy hesitated, before he took a seat besides Harry.

"Well... You know Ginny?" he started.

"Of course," Harry chuckled.

"Well, I... I really like her, Harry. I did back when we were at the Yule Ball together in fourth year but I sort of just ignored it because of you and Dean until now... She's single now though and I want to... You know. But I have no idea how to tell her!"

"I am guessing you want my advice then, right?" Harry asked, and Neville nodded.

He thought for a moment, his eyes glancing over at the Slytherin table as he did so. Draco had his head buried in his arms while Pansy was looking at him with an amused look on her face.

"Well, perhaps you shouldn't do what I did, with the whole kissing her and such. But I think the best thing you can do is just tell her. It's better to do that than to confess another way. I know that it seems like it's something that's too scary to do, but you'll feel so much better after! If you want to, you could always get her some orchids – those are her favourites. I'm sure Hermione won't mind transfiguring some for you if you asked her," he smiled. Neville's eyes lit up, and he nodded gratefully.

"Thank you so much, Harry!" he said, before quickly walking out of the Great Hall excitedly. Harry smiled to himself – he hoped that they worked out. Ginny still seemed to miss being with Harry, even though he himself felt like she was a sister to him, and hopefully Neville could be the one to help her move on.

He looked back at Pansy and Draco once more to find Pansy shooting glances in his direction a lot and a red-faced Draco seeming like he was trying his best _not _to look. She looked fairly pleased with herself and even more amused than before, while Draco looked so embarrassed that Harry was sure that he wanted to disappear off the face of the earth. Harry chuckled to himself, exited the Great Hall, and made his way to Gryffindor Tower, accepting that there would most likely always be something he wouldn't understand about his two new Slytherin friends.

* * *

I remember disliking this chapter when I was writing it in ASoDM but this one is much better.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I guess I shall update next Friday, unless I get it done quickly again. Also, feel free to review! It always keeps me motivated and I love to hear your thoughts.


	6. The Truth

I do apologise for this late chapter, I do not have any reasons other than lack of motivation due to my health problems.

I have a couple of things to tell you but as usual I will save it until the end so I don't keep you waiting longer! Like the last one it isn't changed very much apart from improvements and such. Enjoy!

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Six – The Truth

* * *

After confessing to Pansy about Harry, the Gryffindor had been constantly on his mind that evening. He had been pushing aside his feelings for a long time, terrified about what would happen if it was revealed, and had always thought he could never tell anyone. Acting on these feelings was definitely not something that could ever happen. However, the fact that he had admitted it out loud made him dwell on this even more. It did not help one bit that while they were doing their homework in Draco's room, she kept on teasing him.

"_I think you have Potions tomorrow, don't you, Draco?"_

"_Yes, that's why I'm looking over this assignment. Why?"_

"_Oh, no reason, really. I was just curious to see if you had started a love potion yet. I think that you and your partner would really enjoy making that together."_

"_Pansy, shut up."_

As well as...

"_Draco? World to Draco!"_

"_W-What? Oh, sorry Pansy. What were you saying?"_

"_Oh, nothing important. I didn't mean to interrupt your daydreams about your future boyfriend."_

"_He's not my future boyfriend."_

"_I love how you know who I'm talking about right away... And I'm sorry. Future _husband_, I mean."_

"_He's not my future husband either!"_

"_You two are going to make some fantastic babies."_

"_Pansy, we are not even able to have babies!"_

"_Oh, yeah. Well, you're still perfectly able to have sex."_

"_P-Pansy!"_

He knew Pansy was only joking and didn't have any intention to upset Draco or anything, but her high amount of teasing made him constantly think about Harry once she was gone. He sighed and turned over in his sheets for the eleventh time that night. Sleep did come to him eventually, however, in the early hours of the morning.

* * *

"_Potter is finally going to get what he deserves at the Tri-Wizard Tournament. I personally hope that he makes a fool of himself while he dies – it would be more amusing that way. Don't you agree, Draco?"_

_The blonde teen shot a glare at his father, only to regret it immediately when a gloved hand slapped him hard across his face._

"_Draco? Draco, wake up!"_

_The Slytherin opened his grey eyes and looked into an emerald pair beside him._

"_Did you have another nightmare?" Harry asked, stroking him gently in circles around his back._

"_Y-Yeah. I'm fine, Harry, don't worry about me."_

"_You're not fine though, Draco," Harry said softly, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy. Draco leant his head against Harry's chest._

"_I will be."_

_Harry smiled, and kissed the top of Draco's head._

"_I know that. I will be here to protect you and stay by your side every step of the way."_

_Draco moved away from Harry for a moment and sat up, looking at him with glistening eyes._

"_Really?" he asked. Harry wrapped one arm around Draco's waist; the other brushed back his blonde hair._

"_Really."_

_Harry pulled Draco closer to him so that their lips met. It started soft and gentle before it became much more passionate. Harry's hand crept its way up Draco's nightshirt and stroked the burning skin, making Draco's own hands grip a little tighter on Harry's neck._

"_I will always be here," Harry whispered as he pulled away for a second. His lips then began to trail Draco's neck, earning soft moans in response. "I love you."_

Draco's eyes slowly opened, this time in reality. He looked to his side, and sighed when he saw an empty space. He had always hated waking up from a dream _in _a dream – it always made it seem twice as real. One of his hands touched his neck, thinking about the kisses Harry had planted there and on his lips, the words '_I love you'._

_If only it was real._

No, he shouldn't think about this. There was no possible chance that what had happened in his dream would come true. Even if it _did _come true, it would only result in him getting hurt. It was better for him to just try to ignore it and move on with his life.

_Yes, because ignoring it has worked so well before._

He sighed, and looked at the time, seeing it was 7:00am. He was fairly pleased that he had actually woke up at a normal time for once, and was something he hoped he would start to do more often. His eyes closed once more and he almost drifted off once more before Pansy came knocking at his door.

"Draco, are you awake?" she called.

"Yeah, I am."

"Can I come in?"

"Of course."

Pansy came into the room, already dressed in her robes. She was drying her hair with her wand as she was walking.

"Wow, you are dressed this early? I am impressed," Draco grinned. "This isn't like you."

"It isn't like you _not _to be dressed this early; we must be swapping roles!" she replied. Draco smiled and chuckled, but it faded when he saw Pansy's expression.

"Pansy, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Dray," she whispered, rushing over to give him a hug. He was confused for a moment before he realised – his concealment charm would have worn off by now. In his nightclothes, a few scars were visible on his arms, but the two most obvious ones was one which trailed down the side of his face by his eye, and one which went from the back of his ear to his shoulder.

"I'm fine, Pansy, don't worry," he said softly. She pulled away slowly, nodding.

"I know... I'm sorry about that."

"There's no need to apologise," he said. He got out of bed and picked up his uniform, before he turned back to Pansy. "Would you mind if you waited here for a few minutes while I go and have a quick shower?"

"No, not at all. Go ahead," she replied. He smiled, and went into the bathroom.

She finished drying her hair, trying to forget about the scars she had seen on Draco. To distract herself, she glanced into Draco's open trunk. She felt guilty for trying to look at his things, but curiosity got the better of her when she noticed that some kind of jewellery box that she had never seen before inside the trunk. She reached inside and took the box out of it, her eyes inspecting the design. It was very beautiful, with a very detailed and unique pattern on it. A snake was wrapped around it, with bright emeralds as its eyes. When she wasn't able to open it, she figured that the snake was some sort of lock, which she couldn't work out how to unlock.

"I see that you are being fascinated by my belongings, Pansy."

The girl jumped when she heard Draco's voice behind her. He chuckled, as he picked up his wand to dry his blonde hair, his scars now concealed.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I don't really mind. It's pretty, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah, it is," she nodded. "How do you open it?"

"Very easily, if you can understand and speak Parseltongue, that is," he said, and Pansy passed him the box.

"_Open," _he hissed, and the snake slithered onto his wrist and wrapped itself around it, where it stayed still once more.

"Wow, that's amazing," she exclaimed.

"I suppose it is," Draco smiled. "Anyway, shall we go to the Great Hall for breakfast?"

"Sure, let's go."

* * *

Breakfast that morning wasn't very different than dinner the previous night, except that the stares had reduced and so had Pansy's teasing. She still grinned and gestured to the Gryffindor table a few times, however.

"Pansy, do you mind? I am trying to actually enjoy eating something and I am getting distracted by you twitching your head towards the Gryffindor table every few minutes," he muttered.

"I apologise, Draco. I just find it incredibly adorable."

"I do believe we have gone over this already, Pansy."

"I can _so _imagine you two as a couple."

"He's not even gay."

"That doesn't mean anything. He could still be bisexual," she chirped. Draco paused for a moment before he spoke again.

"Even if he was, I doubt that he would fall for me."

"Stop being so _negative, _Draco!"

"You probably just find the thought of me and him hot or something."

"...No comment," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Seriously though Draco, it could happen. It's not impossible."

"Yes, I know," Draco said, clearly doubtful.

It was soon time for them to go to their first lesson: Defence Against the Dark Arts. The two of them arrived there fairly early, along with the Golden Trio.

"Hi there, Draco," Harry smiled as they arrived. "Hey, Pansy."

"Hey, Harry," Draco greeted. Pansy nodded to Harry in greeting and smiled, and Hermione looked at Draco for a moment.

"Malfoy," she nodded to him.

"Granger," he nodded back, stifling a laugh when he heard Ron grumble something along the lines of 'Not you as well'.

The rest of the students soon arrived, followed by Professor Lupin.

"Alright, everyone. I have an important lesson for you all today so please listen carefully," he said. ""I am aware that you all remember the Boggart from your third year, correct?"

The class nodded at him. Draco personally remembered it all too well. He was immensely glad when Lupin had ended the class early, which had prevented everyone witnessing Lucius Malfoy being his son's greatest fear.

"Well, in recent times, some Boggarts have been developing, in a sense. There has only been a very small amount of them which have developed fully, and even though we do not believe the Dark Lord will use them outside of getting information out of victims, it's possible he will. Luckily, there has only been six known to exist. The Ministry has one contained, Hogwarts has one in this very room, and the other four have been obtained by the Dark Lord."

"How exactly have they developed, professor?" Hermione asked.

"That is what I am about to explain now, Granger. This Boggart first transforms into your greatest fear, just like regular Boggarts do. It does this while it goes through your memories connected with your fear. If there are no memories which are exactly connected to it, then it will create its own scenario to your fear. If you do have memories connected properly to it, however, then it will transform into the worst possible memory you have to do with your fear."

Draco's eyes widened and he started to tremble very slightly. Both Pansy and Harry who were standing by his side looked at him, concern written on their faces.

"Fuck, what am I going to do?" Draco whispered very quietly to them. "This is just what I bloody need..."

"Do you wish to share what you just said with the rest of the class, Mister Malfoy?" Professor Lupin asked, sounding annoyed.

"Not really, sir."

"Five points from Slytherin for talking when I am speaking and for you cheek. As I was saying, the spell for this kind of Boggart is not Riddikulus, but instead, _Obliviscere. _Everyone got that? Remember: Obliviscere. Also, try not to hang around – the longer you watch your memory or the Boggart's creation, the harder it will be for you to cast the spell. As this lesson is naturally much more serious than your one in third year, I shall be picking the order of you to do this. Mister Weasley, may you start?"

The red-haired boy gulped and stood in line with the wardrobe containing the Boggart.

"Are you ready?" Lupin asked, earning a nod in reply. Ron stood forward, and to everyone's surprise, Hermione stepped out. However, she had blood trickling down her face, which was terrifyingly pale. The Boggart tilted its face at Ron, before it transformed in what was clearly its own created scenario. Ron was bent over the form of Hermione, who was seeping out blood. She appeared to be emotionless.

"_Hermione! Hermione, please wake up... Please..." _

Ron closed his eyes for a second, before he raised his wand.

"Ob... _Obliviscere!" _Ron shouted, and the Boggart was blasted by a ray of light back into the wardrobe, which Lupin quickly shut.

"Great job, Ron! That's how it's done," Lupin said. Ron wiped his forehead, and went back to the others in the class. Hermione grabbed his hand, smiling softly.

"Okay, how about you go next, Harry?"

Harry nodded, and gave Draco's arm a quick squeeze before he stepped in front of the wardrobe. He had an idea of what the Boggart would transform into, and so it wasn't a surprise to him when it changed into the form of those he cared for clearly deceased. Ron, Hermione, Draco, Pansy, Neville, Luna, Ginny... He also wasn't surprised when the Boggart began to show the memory of Sirius' death. A pang of pain went through him, and he felt a moment of guilt when he saw the look of grief on Remus' face, but he quickly raised his wand soon after.

"_Obliviscere!" _he yelled, and watched as the Boggart was sent back into the Wardrobe, which was closed once more.

"That was great yet again! Alright, shall we have a Slytherin next?"

Draco gulped and silently prayed it wouldn't be him. It could be _anybody _but him.

"How about you go next, Mister Malfoy?"

The Slytherin froze to the spot, his eyes wide open in terror. _It had to have been me... This isn't going to go well at all..._

"Are you too scared of not being spoilt enough, Malfoy?" Ron scoffed, clearly wondering why Draco was taking so long to step forward.

"Quiet, Ron. Come on Malfoy; we haven't got all day."

Draco hesitantly put one foot in front of the other until he was standing in the right spot. He closed his eyes for a few moments, and only opened them when he heard a few confused whispers in the class. He couldn't have been less surprised when he opened them and looked into the eyes of Lucius Malfoy.

The Boggart smirked, before it soon transformed into a memory Draco knew far too well from the summer.

"_You're lucky that the Dark Lord was impressed by how you fixed that Vanishing Cabinet, Draco, otherwise you'd be long dead by now. Perhaps it would have been better off that way for you, really. He doesn't fully trust you now, Draco, and it's not like many people would even miss you if you were gone. It's actually pathetic how you couldn't even kill that old bastard... Lots of people in your place would have done anything to receive such a big task. Why on Earth wouldn't you finish what you started?"_

A couple of people looked shocked at how Draco's father was speaking to him, and they were all so immersed in the memory that even Professor Lupin didn't even say anything about Draco casting the spell.

"_Perhaps it is because I have a heart."_

"_What did you just say to me?"_

"_I have a heart. Unlike everyone else, I have a heart. I wouldn't kill someone who is innocent. You can call me pathetic all you want, but the fact that all of you are too scared of him that you would do everything he says is more pathetic than I would ever be."_

"_Are you calling me pathetic? _CRUCIO!"

A collection of gasps went across the room as the unforgivable curse hit 'Draco'. He screamed out in pain, his body shaking uncontrollably from the damage, which seemed to be too much for his body to take, was doing. 'Lucius' couched down beside his son, and removed the curse before he grasped Draco's hair roughly and pulled his head back.

"_Look at you, not even being able to defend yourself. And I'm pathetic?" _ Lucius hissed into Draco's ear, as his son gasped in pain. _"You weren't able to defend yourself from any of the Death Eaters, even when the last bit of dignity you had left was stolen from you. You've got it all wrong – you can never get more pathetic than you."_

The class watched, mostly in terror, at the form of Lucius Malfoy kicking his defenceless son. He soon grabbed his cane and began to slam it into the back of Draco, and this was when Professor Lupin finally spoke up.

"Malfoy, say the spell!" he shouted, but Draco was frozen on the spot. He stared transfixed at the scene before him, one which he despised the most because it always reminded him of how weak and _pathetic _he was. He felt a dizzy and faint sensation before everything went dark. Harry rushed forward, thanks to his Seeker instincts, and caught the blonde before he fell. Lupin quickly stood in front of the duo, making the Boggart turn into a full moon, before it transformed into the scene of a werewolf creeping towards a young boy, his eyes gleaming red.

"Obliviscere!"

Pansy had rushed over to the wardrobe to lock it as Lupin sent the Boggart back into it. There was a very long silence before anyone dared to speak.

"Professor, he is burning up. Shall I take him to Madam Pomfrey?" Harry asked.

"...Yes, I think that'll be best. Hurry, now."

Harry nodded and lifted Draco up, once again bridal-style. The Slytherin noticeably felt underweight still, and that combined with his smaller height made him easy to carry again. Pansy opened the door for him.

"I will do my best to explain what Draco has told us," she murmured. "But they are going to definitely going to try and sort this."

"I know," Harry sighed quietly, and headed up to the hospital wing.

* * *

Madam Pomfrey was attending a second year Ravenclaw when she turned around and saw Harry, for the second time, walking into the room with Draco in his arms.

"What happened to him this time, Potter?" she sighed, rushing over as Harry placed Draco on one of the beds.

"Well, in Defence Against the Dark Arts, we were being taught about these developed Boggarts..." he started. She nodded for him to continue. "His memory was... Well... His father abusing him, badly..."

"_Abusing _him?" she repeated angrily. "That monster of a man! I had always wondered how he got all of these injuries; I had never expected it to be _that._"

"Yes... And then he passed out."

"I can see that, Potter. Oh my goodness, the poor, poor boy..."

The two of them looked up to see Professor Lupin, Professor McGonagall and Pansy quickly walking into the room and over to Draco's bed.

"I cannot believe what you told us, Miss Parkinson," McGonagall sighed. "The poor boy. How can a father do that to his own son?"

"Because he is a heartless, good-for-nothing piece of shit. That's why."

"Draco, you're awake!" Harry exclaimed. Draco chuckled and sat up, his hand rubbing his forehead.

"Well observed, Harry."

"This is certainly no laughing matter, Mister Malfoy. Why haven't you told anyone about this?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Well, it's not like I haven't told _anyone..." _he mumbled. Her eyes naturally landed on his two friends.

"You both should have known better about telling someone about something as serious as this is! Lucius Malfoy is already a wanted criminal, and I am certain that this will convince the Ministry to take even further action."

"Well, Harry was only told recently, and I was told at the beginning of term," Pansy said.

"But this is something-" McGonagall started, but she was interrupted.

"Minerva, imagine if you were them. Something this big has been confessed to them, something which is probably Draco's biggest secret, and I can imagine that he told them not to tell anyone about this..." he said, and the three students nodded at him. "Exactly. With them being close friends to Draco, they probably didn't want to tell his secret and betray him that way."

"Alright, I do see your point, Remus. But this is something that needs to be taken care of, and the Ministry needs to be informed. This isn't going to cause anything bad to happen, Draco, it is for the best. Do you understand?" she asked, and he nodded slowly. "Good. I can imagine that they will need to come and ask further questions, to ensure that they have a full understanding of the situation. Are you capable to go to lunch and the rest of your lessons?"

"I should be fine. I suppose I only passed out because of the pressure and such," he said. McGonagall nodded.

"Lunch starts in ten minutes, so you three may as well wait until then to leave," she winked, and made her leave. Remus looked at the three students before following her.

"I'll be seeing you later then. And Draco?" he said, and the blonde looked up at him. "Hang in there, okay?"

Draco smiled and nodded, who returned the gesture and left.

"What was _that _all about?"

The students and Pomfrey all looked over at the Ravenclaw, who they had seemingly forgotten about. Draco burst out laughing, followed by Harry and Pansy, and a grin from Pomfrey.

"Never you mind, Richards!" the nurse exclaimed, shaking her head at him.

"This is going to be all over the Daily Prophet soon enough, isn't it?" Draco groaned. Harry sighed, nodding.

"I'm afraid so, Draco."

* * *

The rest of the day went incredibly slow for Draco. There was a small part of him which was relieved that something may finally be done to stop his father, but he was also endlessly worrying about the threats which Lucius said would happen if he had ever dared to tell a soul. Now that Professor McGonagall had informed the Ministry, would anything happen to him? He was scared to know the answer. Not only was this thought going through his mind, but the news had spread like wildfire, somehow. Throughout the rest of the day, there were constant whispers all around him.

"_Did you hear? Draco Malfoy is actually abused! It's no wonder he has always been a git to everyone."_

"_I can't that Draco Malfoy has been abused... So do you think he wanted to be a Death Eater or do you think he was forced to be? The poor guy."_

"_Who would have known? I always thought he was just a spoiled brat personally, but I really don't know what to think about him now..."_

Everywhere he went, there were always stares at him. They showed a mixture of emotions that he would never have thought would be aimed at him – sorrow, sympathy, pity and even guilt.

When it was finally time for dinner, he and Pansy were stopped at the entrance by Harry.

"Hey, you two. Ron and Hermione were just wondering... Well, if you wanted to sit with us?" he asked, and gestured over to his friends and three empty spaces across from them.

"This is... Unexpected. How come?" Draco questioned.

"Well, I would like to sit with you both, and Ron wants to talk to you... It's completely up to you, though."

"Oh, why the hell not? Are you with me, Draco?" said Pansy.

"Um... I guess so," Draco said, slightly doubtful. Harry smiled, and the three of them walked over to where Ron and Hermione were. Harry sat in the middle with Draco and Pansy either side of him.

"Hey guys," Harry smiled.

"Hi, Harry," Hermione replied. Ron simply nodded, his mouth full.

"Uh, hi..." Draco said awkwardly. Ron finished his mouthful and looked at Draco seriously.

"Look, Malfoy, one of the reasons I said to Harry that it's fine for you to sit with us is... Well, I want to apologise," he said. Draco and Pansy both looked at him in astonishment, while Harry and Hermione ate silently.

"I know it seems really strange of me to say this... I am shocked at it myself! But recently, I've been such a huge git to you. I know you have been to in previous years, but I was too stubborn to accept that you weren't like that anymore and that you are friends with Harry. I always just thought of how you were to us when you were younger and not spent a second to think of anything else about you and what you could be dealing with. So I am very sorry, and I hope that you can accept my apology."

"...I do, Weasley," Draco smiled slightly after a moment of hesitation.

"I'm glad. Also, if Harry trusts you, I do too."

"So do I," Hermione added.

"Thank you both, it means a lot to me," Draco said softly.

"It also does to me," said Pansy.

"Draco?"

The blonde turned around to see Lupin standing behind him.

"What is it, professor?"

"Professor McGonagall has asked me to inform you that she wants you to go to her office after your dinner," he said.

"Alright, thank you," Draco said. Lupin nodded, and walked over to the other teachers.

"What do you think she wants?" Pansy asked, continuing with her meal.

"Maybe someone from the Ministry wants to question me, like she said they would want to do," Draco suggested.

"I can imagine so," Harry said.

As soon as dinner had finished, he gave both Pansy and Harry a hug.

"Good luck, Draco," Harry smiled.

"Same from me," Pansy added. He smiled at them before he reached out a hand for Ron and Hermione to both shake.

"Thank you for what you said to me earlier, Weasley, I appreciate it. Same to you, Granger."

"No problem, Malfoy," Ron replied.

"You're welcome," Hermione said.

The blonde smiled and headed off to the headmistress' office, as he braced himself for a long night of questions.

* * *

Like I said before this chapter, I do have a couple of things to say (I'll try to say it simply):

- Finally had a hospital appointment last Wednesday after being referred in February. Not much is going on for now.

- I got my GSCE results! (As in English Language, English Lit., R.S., B in Art, Cs in Welsh, French & Geography and Cs in Science, Maths and Music.)

- I start college on Monday!

- The Tilip ship has sunk... I apologise to those who were so happy for me. As I only started going out with him the second day we met up with our friends and we were heavily encouraged to, I started to realise I wasn't actually properly interested in him and it was more of a sudden thing. I know I said I was really happy about it but I realised that it's not fair to stay with him when I don't have the same feelings and give him false hope. You probably all think I'm mean but I thought it was for the best /.\

You can all ship Jara though. I may go into detail about that another time... Maybe.

But yeah, that's all I had to say! I apologise yet again for the late chapter. At least it's a decent length! Feel free to review, I always appreciate it. Until next time!


	7. The Map Never Lies

Hello my readers!

My updates are probably going to be every 1-2 weeks now, and I won't be aiming to update every week. I haven't started my courses in college yet, I've only had my induction, but I will be starting them on Monday. So please don't ask me to update soon and expect me to do so... Because I won't be xD Please also consider I do have various restricting health problems as well.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Seven – The Map Never Lies

* * *

Nervousness started to build up inside Draco as he made his way to Professor McGonagall's office. Despite the headmistress' attempts to convince him that it would be best for the Ministry to know about Draco's abuse, the thought of something happening because of this worried him greatly.

Once he arrived outside her office, the realisation that he didn't actually know what the password was hit him. He paced back and forth while he decided what to do, but stopped when the familiar woman's voice spoke from behind him.

"I do apologise for being late, Mister Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said, walking up beside him. "I'm afraid I got held up by Professor Lupin."

"It's fine, Professor," Draco replied.

She turned around to face the gargoyles in front of them, and raised both of her hands.

"Sherbet Lemon," she said in a proud voice, and both of them watched the staircase as it was revealed. She chuckled when she saw the look of slight confusion on Draco's face.

"It was always Dumbledore's preferred password," she explained. "I have kept it in memory of him."

Draco smiled, though he felt a pang of guilt over the mention of Dumbledore. She smiled with understanding and patted his shoulder. She gestured for Draco to follow her up the staircase, and opened the door at the top to reveal Kingsley inside, who had arrived at the castle earlier.

"Ah, hello Minerva and Draco," Kingsley smiled, and Draco immediately smiled back. He had always been fond of the man, and was hoping for him to be the next Minister.

"Good evening, Kingsley," Professor McGonagall greeted. "Let's all take a seat, shall we? This may take a little while."

The two adults sat themselves down on a cushiony sofa, while Draco said on an armchair in front of them.

"So, Draco, I understand completely that this may be a very sensitive topic for you to talk about, and some of the questions I will ask could upset you. Are you alright with this?" Kingsley asked kindly. After a moment of hesitation, Draco replied.

"...Yes, I am. I think it will do me some good to talk about this thoroughly anyway."

Kingsley nodded at him and smiled, while McGonagall looked at him proudly – an expression that Draco was not used to have being directed at him.

"I am glad. So, first of all, how long has this abuse been going on for, Draco?"

"Well, he has verbally abused me for as long as I can remember. But he first hit me when I was three..." McGonagall's eyes widened at this. "...And up until I was five, he would only hit me every few days or so, when he was angry. After I turned five it started to become much more frequent, and he started to use the Cruciatus curse when he felt as though it was needed once I was ten."

"I'm very sorry..." Kingsley said, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Has your mother ever contributed to your father's abuse?"

"No, never. She... She has always wanted to protect me. The times I've had one of the more serious beatings, she would always see if I was alright. She felt guilty every time it happened and said to me she would rather her be in my place, but I never let her. Every time it seemed as though my father had reached the point where he might hurt her, I always stood in his way. I would never allow her to get hurt."

Draco took a deep breath, trying to stop tears from forming in his eyes. Kingsley noticed this and stayed silent for a few moments. Both he and McGonagall were astonished by how loyal Draco was to his mother. Even if the abuse had been directed at him, he still had made sure that his mother was never in harm's way.

"It's lovely to hear how much you care for her," Kingsley murmured.

"Of course I care for her that much. I love her."

"I can see that," Kingsley smiled softly. "Are you alright for me to ask more questions?"

"Yes, of course," Draco nodded.

"Has Lucius ever abused you... Sexually?"

Draco quickly shook his head.

"Verbally and physically, yes, but I have never been sexually assaulted by he himself-"

"He himself?" McGonagall repeated, tilting her head slightly at him.

"Well, yes..." Draco hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was basically a target for a lot of the Death Eaters over the summer. They were angry at me because some of them would have finished my task in a heartbeat if they had the opportunity, but I didn't. I had one extremely bad day where I had been hit with a number of Cruciatus curses and I was fairly weak. One of the Death Eaters, well, he took advantage of me while I was like this... Father had just laughed about it. But he himself has never done anything like that."

"He didn't do anything to help?" Kingsley said, looking at Draco in disbelief when he shook his head.

"He encouraged the Death Eaters if anything, but he still hurt me himself when he felt the need."

McGonagall looked down at the floor, clearly feeling guilty that the thought of Draco not being safe never came to mind.

"When has he normally felt the need to hurt you? As in, what sets him off, if you do not mind me asking?"

"It can be anything, I suppose. What I do varies what he does. If I ever speak up for myself, like the Boggart showed in class, then that's when it is worse. A simple look can make him angry, and on some days I can even just be in his presence and he would want to hurt me, either mentally or physically, if he feels the need to do so."

"Alright... Thank you for sharing this information with me, Draco. I'm sure that we will now be able to try even harder to catch this man as soon as possible. There is one last thing I would like to ask, however, if you do not mind. I think it might help with your case."

"Of course I do not mind."

"Did you become a Death Eater because it was his desire, or was it willingly?"

"It was partly his desire," Draco started. "Before he was in Azkaban, he had always made it clear that he wanted me to be a part of the Death Eaters. That was part of the reason why I became one. The other was because the Dark Lord threatened to kill my mother and I, so I didn't see any other option."

"Right, thank you for your time, Draco. I know this is very hard for you, but I am certain that we will finally stop Lucius. He will never be able to hurt you again," Kingsley smiled reassuringly.

"Thank you... This really does mean a lot to me," Draco whispered, no longer able to stop the tears from brimming in his eyes. McGonagall smiled softly, and reached over to gently place a hand on Draco's shoulder.

"It would be best if you head back to your dormitory, Draco. I want to thank you myself, Kingsley," said McGonagall.

"There is no need to thank me. Goodbye, Draco."

Draco said his own goodbyes and left the office. He made his way to the Slytherin Dungeons, grateful that the corridors were almost completely empty.

"Anguis," he said when he reached the door. He walked in once it had opened, and didn't make it very far before he was squashed by Pansy in a hug. He laughed and hugged her back, in a much gentler way.

"It's great to see you, Draco. How did it go?" she asked him, smiling.

"It went okay, thank you. I actually feel relieved that I got it all off my chest, really," he replied.

"Um... Draco?"

They both turned around to see Blaise standing by them.

"I just wanted to apologise for the fact that... Well, I haven't really been there for you since last year and I'm really sorry for that."

"Blaise, you have nothing to apologise for. Even if we haven't been as good friends recently, you've never been disrespectful to me and I thank you for that. I have nothing against you – I only feel hatred towards Crabbe, Goyle and a couple of others."

"I'm glad about that... I suppose I'm just paranoid," Blaise laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Thank you for helping me the other day," Pansy smiled. "With Draco, I mean."

"It's not a problem at all," Blaise smiled back. They looked at each other for several moments because Draco spoke.

"After all that's happened today, I'm exhausted. I'm going to go and have an early night."

"Alright, see you in the morning, Draco. I'm going to stay down here for a bit as I'm not very tired just yet," Pansy replied. Draco paused for a moment, as it was strange for Pansy to stay in the common room than her own room, but he was too tired to think about it.

"See you both tomorrow," Draco smiled at them.

"Goodnight, Draco," Blaise replied.

"Sweet dreams," Pansy added.

Yawning, he walked down both of the sets of stairs, entered his room, and collapsed on his bed. He barely had he energy to change into his nightwear, but once he did so, he had fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

_Draco was walking down by the Black Lake. A beautiful night sky was reflected in the water, with millions of shining stars and a crescent moon. He sat down on the grass beside the water, resting his head on his knees. He stared at his reflection in the clear water, turning around when another figure appeared. He smiled up at the raven-haired Gryffindor behind him, and watched as he took a seat beside him._

"_It's beautiful, isn't it?" Draco whispered, resting his shoulder on Harry's. The other boy smiled as he took Draco's hand._

"_It is, but I can think of something even more beautiful," Harry replied, holding up Draco's hand so he could brush his lips across the pale skin._

"_You're too kind to someone like me," Draco said softly, a blush forming on his cheeks. "You deserve someone much better than I am."_

"_I believe I can't be happier with anyone else. You're much more special than you think," said Harry, and lifted up Draco's chin so their eyes met. "I mean that with all my heart."_

_He leaned in to kiss Draco softly, who returned the kiss. He pulled away for a moment, smiling._

"_I love you, Harry."_

"_I love you too."_

Draco woke up, smiling at the thought of his dream. He was certainly enjoying these dreams with him and Harry much more than the nightmares he usually had, and it was also nice to see that he had enough sleep – the time was 7:15.

"Draco, are you awake?" he head Pansy call through the door.

"Yeah, you can come in if you want to."

She walked into the room, already fully dressed in her Slytherin robes.

"Wow, you are dressed this early two days in a row? This is quite surprising, Pansy."

"I just woke up this morning in a really happy mood and got out of bed fairly quickly," she chuckled. "But I'm surprised how you _aren't _dressed early. Dreaming about a certain green-eyed Gryffindor, are we now?" she winked, making him blush slightly.

"Perhaps, perhaps..."

"I think you should tell him, Draco."

"Like I would do that..." he started, but then stopped. Would it really be so bad if he confessed? Sure, if Harry didn't feel the same way, it would be very awkward, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. Now it was known he was abused... Did he really have to worry about his father knowing he was gay? "Actually... I'm thinking maybe I could tell him tomorrow."

Pansy squealed and threw her arms around the startled blonde.

"That is so unbelievably _cute! _Oh my gosh, you _have _to tell him now you've said that."

"Alright, if I'm able to, I will. Just please stop suffocating me. Oxygen would be nice."

After he got dressed, without using a concealing charm this time to hide his scars as he didn't need to, they made their way down to the common room, greeted Blaise, and went to the Great Hall for their breakfast. They looked over at the Golden Trio, who were gesturing for them to come and sit with them again. They sat like they had done previously – Harry in the middle, with Draco and Pansy either side of him.

"Hello, guys," Draco greeted them, receiving a quick hug from Harry first. The Gryffindor placed a finger gently on the scar on Draco's face, while he shook his head, looking rather angry.

"Hey, Draco," he said, removing his finger from Draco's scar. "You've made it on the front page of the Daily Prophet."

"Oh, of course I have. What a lovely surprise. Could you pass me the paper, Ron?" he asked. The redhead looked a little surprised at the use of his given name, but soon smiled.

"Sure, Mal- I mean, Draco," he replied, handing him the newspaper. Draco thanked him, and looked down at the front page.

'_The Ministry have recently had a shock over a crime committed by none other than loyal Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy, one which has, in fact, been occurring for years. Since the age of just three-years-old, his son, Draco Lucius Malfoy, has been a victim of unforgivable abuse. As well as being verbally abused, Draco has been a victim of countless beatings and numerous Cruciatus curses, and was also allowed to be attacked by other Death Eaters over the summer. The Aurors are now in search of Lucius Malfoy, and intend to make sure that his wife, Narcissa Malfoy, is safe. Abuse is something which is not to be taken lightly...'_

Draco put the paper down on the table, having read enough. Harry placed a hand on his arm, making him flinch slightly.

"Are you alright, Draco?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm relieved, if anything. Not just about them hunting down my father, but also because a decent reporter actually wrote this," Draco chuckled.

"I can't believe it has been going on for so long, Draco," Hermione said sadly.

"I feel the same way, and the Cruciatus curse too? I hope they catch him soon," Ron added.

"You're very brave. You do know that, Draco?" Harry said softly. Draco gave a small laugh, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"I'm not, really. I mean, the amount of tears I've shed from this, and how terrified he makes me feel doesn't make me brave. That just makes me a coward."

"No, it doesn't. My aunt and uncle treated me badly when I was younger, and I thought that was hard enough, but if anything, I consider myself lucky after what you've been through. You're very brave for coping with it all. If anything, you cope with it better than most people would, including me."

"He's right, Draco. You _are _very brave for coping through this. I know for sure I wouldn't be able to cope with it even half as well," said Pansy. Both Ron and Hermione nodded at him in agreement.

"Thank you, guys. It really means a lot to me," he whispered. Harry wrapped an arm around him, and Pansy, of course, quickly jumped out of her seat to move over to him so she could hug him herself.

"Can I have your attention, please?"

The whole of the Great Hall look at the headmistress. Some looked confused, being as announcements were normally said in the evening.

"I think after the majority of you hearing the recent news yesterday and surely all of you must know now after it being written in the Daily Prophet, I feel the need to say this," she started. Naturally, the majority of eyes in the Hall landed on Draco, before she cleared her throat loudly. "I will not tolerate any appropriate behaviour aimed at Mister Malfoy because of this situation. Anyone who thinks they can take advantage of this will be severely punished. Now, continue with your breakfast, we still have ten minutes until your first class."

The students turned back to their breakfasts, a few catching a quick glance at Draco first.

"She has been very nice to me about this, you know. Same with Professor Lupin and Kingsley, not to mention you four. Blaise has spoken to me again now, too."

"As in Blaise Zabini?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, that's him. He apologised to me yesterday for not being as close to me as he was last year. I told him it's alright though – he's never disrespected me or anything like that."

"It was really sweet, bless him. He's a good person," Pansy said, looking down at her hands. The realisation suddenly hit Draco, and he grinned.

"Ooh, do you have a little crush, Pansy?" he winked.

"Shut up, Draco. Don't you forget that I can use a certain something against you if you were to annoy me too much," she said cheekily.

"But that isn't fair! You've had your share of teasing, why can't I?" Draco moaned.

"Because when I teased you about _your _crush, Draco, you had nothing to threaten me with. I, however, do."

"Oh wow, thanks a lot," he said sarcastically, but he couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Wait, who do you have a crush on, Draco?" Harry asked, looking at him curiously.

"It doesn't matter," the Slytherin mumbled, picking at the remains of his food with his fork. Hermione noticed he was feeling uncomfortable and decided to change the subject.

"Did you three revise for the Potions test we have this morning?" she asked Ron, Harry and Draco. She earned a couple of groans in reply.

"You know I didn't, Hermione," Ron groaned.

"Ronald, you told me that you would revise for this one _without _me telling you to!"

"I haven't either, Hermione," Harry mumbled.

"What am I going to do with you two? Honestly," she sighed, making both Pansy and Draco chuckle.

Far too soon for any of them, it was time for their first lesson. Harry sighed deeply once he and Draco had taken their seats.

"How lovely, I absolutely _adore _Potions tests," he groaned sarcastically, making Draco laugh.

"I am sure you will do fine, Harry. Well, maybe you would do a little better if you had actually revised."

"It's alright for you, Draco. You're brilliant at Potions. I'm useless at it."

"You did well last year."

"Yeah, but I _did _have Snape's old book..."

"You had _what? _You cheater!"

Harry shrugged and smiled slyly, looking a lot like a Slytherin wearing Gryffindor robes.

"Okay everyone, quiet down. I trust you have all revised for your test?"

"Not bloody likely," Harry mumbled. Draco smiled to himself, knowing why he had fallen for him.

* * *

The rest of the day had continued, surprisingly, to go well for Draco. Naturally, he still received numerous stares from people, but a lot of them were nicer to him. A few of the ones who smiled at him were people Draco had thought despised him. However, throughout the day, he had noticed a lot of whispers coming from Crabbe and Goyle which seemed to be aimed at him. He tried his best to ignore them, but it was still highly distracting. Luckily, Draco and Pansy continued to eat at the Gryffindor table, and so he was away from Crabbe and Goyle at these times.

Dinner was very enjoyable, as the five of them were simply chatting about any random subject that came to mind. He would have never guessed that he would ever be sitting at the Gryffindor table with Pansy to talk to the Golden Trio, or that the Aurors would ever be after his father for another unforgivable crime.

"Ginny and Neville look really sweet together, don't you think?" Hermione asked. They looked down the table at the said couple holding hands, with Neville laughing at something Ginny had said. They all smiled and nodded in agreement.

"They do," Ron said. "I am fairly surprised, though. I was certain that she still liked Harry."

"She may have moved on from him now," Hermione smiled.

They had soon finished their dinner, though as they were about to leave, Professor McGonagall called out to Draco.

"Mister Malfoy, could Remus and I have a word, please?"

"Yes, of course," he called back, nodding at the others to go on without him. He gave Harry and Pansy a quick hug before he walked over to the professors.

"What is the matter?" he asked them.

"We just thought it would be best to give you a quick update on your father," Professor Lupin explained.

"Several Aurors have made their way to Malfoy Manor. Even though it is evident that the Dark Lord is no longer in your home, it is currently charmed stronger than usual to prevent anyone from breaking through. However, they are trying to discover how to break the barriers. They are planning to make sure your mother is out of harm's way and to take your father into custody. There is no possible way he would be able to escape unnoticed – the whole of the Manor is surrounded," Professor McGonagall informed him.

"Thank you for letting me know," Draco smiled. "It is a very big relief."

"It's my pleasure, Draco. You may want to go to your common room now."

He nodded at both of them, and exited the Great Hall. He soon arrived at the Slytherin Dungeons, and found Pansy and Blaise chatting on a sofa when he entered the common room. They smiled and waved at him when they saw him walking over.

"Hey, guys," he greeted them.

"Hi, Draco!" Pansy said, getting up to hug him.

"Hey," Blaise said.

"What did they want?" Pansy asked.

"They just wanted to tell me the progress they are making to catch my father."

"Oh, that's good. How is it going?"

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated when he noticed how much quieter the common room was. He looked around, and saw that everyone was looking at him curiously. Well, most were curious – Crabbe and Goyle, for some reason, seemed angry. Draco sighed and shook his head.

"Not here," Draco said quietly. He nodded in the direction of the stairs. "Let's go up to my room."

The three of them quickly walked down the flights of stairs to Draco's room, and Pansy and Blaise sat themselves down on his bed while he cast a locking and silencing charm on the door.

"It's fine, Draco," Pansy said. "So what's been going on with your father, then?"

"He has raised the strength of the charmed barrier around the Manor so that the Aurors surrounding it can't get in. But this means that he shouldn't be able to escape without getting caught, either. They're going to try and find a way to break through – things are looking fairly positive."

"That's great, Draco!" Pansy cried, hugging him.

"It is, I'm very happy for you," Blaise added, giving him a hug of his own.

"I am so relieved to know that he is finally going to get what he deserves."

"I am too – it's about time," Blaise grinned. Pansy nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, it's getting late, and I am fairly tired. I think I'll get in bed now."

"I am too, actually," Pansy yawned. "We'll see you tomorrow, Draco."

"See you," Blaise smiled. They both exited the room, and Draco quickly changed into his nightclothes and jumped into his bed.

* * *

After a relaxing night of chatting to Ron and Hermione and losing at Wizard's Chess, Harry laid on his bed, still not very tired. After boredom started to kick in, he got out his Marauder's Map. It was always amusing to see if there were any students who had snuck out of bed and were wandering around the castle. He smiled when he saw the names of Draco, Pansy and Blaise in Draco's room.

His thoughts on Draco had changed drastically over the last few years, and he was glad that their old rivalry had now turned into friendship. He was also proud of Draco and how he had managed to keep going despite all that has happened to him. Draco was now friends with Ron and Hermione as well as Harry, and seemed to be coming good friends with Blaise once more. His father was soon to be in captivity – what could be better?

To tire himself out, Harry began to quickly organise and tidy his room a bit more, which took him around half an hour. When he was satisfied, he went to pick up his nightwear from the end of his bed, but paused when his eyes hovered over the Marauder's Map, still lying on the bed. All of the students were now in bed, including Draco, but a loud gasp escaped his lips when an unexpected name hovered outside the Slytherin common room.

_Lucius Malfoy._

* * *

I remember how I felt guilty over this cliffhanger in the original story. Now I just feel evil. Mwahahaha.

To any readers who have only read this by me and not the original or my other stories - sometimes, I like to write cliffhangers. I also like to write emotional things. A lot. So brace yourselves, as we still have another sixteen chapters to go.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! The next one might end up being a lot longer than chapter eight in ASoDM, so feel free to review so I am motivated to write it all. Thanks for reading!


	8. Attempted Rescue

Blah blah health, blah blah blah.

I will talk more at the end. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**QUICK NOTE - For story purposes, Blaise's mother isn't known to have multiple husbands and his father is named Cais.**

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Eight – Attempted Rescue

* * *

"_Shit, _I swear, if he dares lay his hands on Draco..."

Harry threw down the Marauder's map, without even bothering to conceal it, grabbed his wand and raced out of his room. He ran down the Gryffindor Tower, cursing whoever's idea it was to make it so high. When he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, he charged through the corridors and headed to the Slytherin Dungeons.

Meanwhile, Lucius Malfoy stood outside the door leading to the Slytherin common room, an amused smile on his face.

"Now, the password should be fairly simple..." he murmured. "It's always been the same sort of thing... Serpente? No... Potestatem? Anguis?"

His smile grew when the door opened.

"That was too easy," he chuckled as he made his way through the common room and down the stairs, and cast a strong locking charm on Pansy's door to prevent her unlocking it herself. At the same time, Harry had arrived at the entrance. Panting for breath, he quickly looked around to see if Lucius was there, before shouting out the password in a breathless voice.

"_Anguis!"_

He immediately ran through the common room the moment the door opened, and raced down the stairs. Once he entered the first corridor, however, he was stopped by two larger males, both pointing their wands at him.

"Where do you think you're going, Potter?" the voice of Goyle snarled at him. Crabbe was standing next to him, and both of them were smirking.

"You shouldn't be out of your bed this late, Potter," Crabbe said, as he cast a silencing charm on the hallway to avoid waking the sleeping Slytherins.

"Let me past, you fucking maniacs!" Harry shouted. "Lucius Malfoy is down those stairs as we speak!"

"Yeah, we know," they both chorused.

Below, Lucius was reaching out to grab the handle of Draco's door. He opened it quietly, and stepped inside. He flicked his wand at the covers to pull them off his son, which made his eyes open slowly.

"Huh?" he said sleepily, raising his head.

"_Incarcerous."_

The boy's eyes widened in horror as ropes shot out of Lucius' wand and bound his hands and feet together. His eyes moved to look at his father, and a terrified expression was evident on his face.

"Hello, Draco," Lucius said softly, his arms crossed. He walked over to Draco's window and looked out of it. "It's such a pleasant evening tonight, isn't it?"

"H-How... How did..."

"How did I get in?" Lucius said, walking over to Draco's bed. He tried to back away, but Lucius' hand grabbed his neck, making him gasp for air. "I'm afraid there is no time for that yet, Draco."

He grabbed Draco's blonde hair and pulled him off the bed with it, before clutching the boy's arm. He roughly dragged Draco out of the room and into the corridor, with Draco struggling against him the whole way. Lucius slammed him into the wall and smirked.

"There really is no point in struggling, Draco. It will only make things worse," he hissed, while he pushed Draco into the wall, making him whimper.

"Draco, what's going on?" he heard Pansy shout through her door. The door handle rattled, but it wouldn't open.

"Don't worry; he is just going on a little field trip with his father," Lucius laughed.

"N-No, this can't be happening..." she cried, as Lucius grabbed Draco's once again and pulled him up the stairs, towards Crabbe and Goyle, who were blocking Harry's way. Pansy panicked as she tried to cast multiple unlocking charms, none of which worked.

"_Reducto!" _she shouted. She covered her eyes when her door shattered, wincing as one of the pieces of wood dug into her arm. She hissed as she pulled it out of her skin, before she rushed out of her room.

"Why, hello there, Mister Potter. What a pleasant surprise it is to see you."

Crabbe and Goyle turned around at the sound of Lucius' voice. Harry raised his wand to take the opportunity to attack them from behind while they were distracted, but Lucius was quicker. He pulled his son closer to him and pointed his own wand at the base of his son's neck.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Potter! You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to dear Draco now, would you?"

"Let him go, Lucius," Harry growled, earning a laugh in response.

"_Stupefy!" _Pansy shouted from behind Lucius. Goyle had noticed her, and quickly pulled Lucius away so the spell missed him, making Draco fall from his grasp onto the floor. Harry was about to make his way over to the fallen blonde, but was stopped in his tracks by Crabbe.

"I don't think so, Potter."

Harry looked over to see Goyle pointing his wand at Pansy. Lucius quickly got up and forced Draco off the floor, and barged past Crabbe and Harry to the next set of stairs.

"Deal with these two!" he snarled as he pulled Draco up the stairs with him. Harry saw his chance while Crabbe and Goyle were distracted.

"_Stupefy!" _

He cast the spell at Goyle, clearing Pansy's way. Harry positioned his wand back at Crabbe's neck.

"Pansy, go after Lucius! I'll be with you in a minute!" he ordered, his eyes still fixed on those of Crabbe's. She simply nodded and raced up the stairs after the Malfoys. She turned out of the common room and ran down the set of stairs. She saw them exit the Slytherin dungeons and chased after them, and confronted them further on.

"Expelli-"

"_Crucio!"_

Pansy screamed as the Unforgivable Curse hit her. He stopped the curse a few seconds later, leaving her shaken on the floor. His eyes darkened as he chuckled evilly.

"Avada-"

"_NO!"_ Draco shouted, and roughly dug his elbow into Lucius' side. His father gasped, and quickly yanked Draco's hair to pull his face to his own.

"Don't you _dare _do that ever again!" he hissed. "_Stupefy!"_

It was a simple spell – but it was much easier for him to have Draco unconscious. He hurriedly threw his son over his shoulder, and ran out of the corridor.

By the time Harry had entered the corridor, the two of them had already gone further ahead. He rushed over to Pansy when he saw her getting herself up from the ground.

"Pansy, what happened? Where did they go?"

"He hit me with the Cruciatus, but I'm fine. Come on!" she cried, grabbing Harry's wrist and ran down the corridor and up the staircases, tracing Lucius' footsteps, with Crabbe and Goyle catching up to them. Harry and Pansy eventually found Lucius making his way to the Room of Requirement, with Draco hoisted over his shoulder.

"Why is he going in there?" Harry questioned; his pace slowing.

"Because of the Vanishing Cabinet. He bought the other one himself – it's in Malfoy Manor," said a voice from behind them. They turned around to find Crabbe and Goyle, and before either of them could react, Goyle ran past them and followed Lucius into the room. Harry chased after them while Pansy held back Crabbe.

Harry panicked when he couldn't see Lucius and Draco in the Room, though Goyle had a smirk on his face.

"_Bombarda Maxima!" _he yelled, sending the spell at the cabinet, smashing it into hundreds of pieces.

"_DRACO! _How could you do this?!" Harry screamed, and launched himself at Goyle, knocking him to the floor. He punched him over and over again until Pansy ran into the room.

"Harry, get off him! We need to see McGonagall _now!" _she cried, pulling Harry off of Goyle, who had fallen unconscious from the numerous hits. Harry nodded, breathing heavily. They charged out of the hallway towards the headmistress' office, neither one caring about how much noise they were making. They shouted out the password once they had arrived, and burst into her office without even knocking. She looked up from some papers she was marking, startled.

"Whatever is the matter?"

"He... Lucius..." Pansy panted, clutching her stomach.

"Sit down, and tell me-"

"There isn't any time for that!" Harry shouted. "We've got to go now! He's-"

"Potter, calm down!" McGonagall exclaimed. "Sit down, both of you, and tell me what happened."

The two of them did as they were told and sat down on the sofa. Minerva sat down in the armchair in front of them, the same that Draco had sat in the previous night.

"Lucius kidnapped Draco."

"But there is no possible way that-"

"Lucius used the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement to get in. The other is in Malfoy Manor. Crabbe and Goyle helped him take Draco by fighting off Harry and I," Pansy explained.

"Oh Merlin, I must inform Kingsley immediately! Where are Crabbe and Goyle now?" she asked.

"Both of them are unconscious – Goyle is in the Room of Requirement and Crabbe is in the corridor by it," said Harry.

"Alright, go and get-"

"What on Earth has happened? I heard a lot of shouting and running."

They turned to see Professor Lupin walking into the room, looking concerned.

"Lucius has kidnapped Draco. He got here via the Vanishing Cabinets, one of which is in the Room of Requirement, the other being in Malfoy Manor. Crabbe and Goyle assisted him," McGonagall explained. Lupin's eyes widened in horror.

"Go to the Ministry, and bring back Kingsley. I will go with Pansy and Harry to bring Crabbe and Goyle back here," he said. McGonagall nodded, stood in her fireplace, and vanished in a green flame.

"Come on, let's go," Lupin instructed. "Where are they?"

"Goyle is in the Room of Requirement and Crabbe is in the corridor by it. They're both unconscious," Pansy informed him. He nodded, and the three of them quickly made their way to the top of the castle. They found Crabbe lying on the floor, still unconscious. Pansy picked up the boy's wand beside him and placed it in her pocked.

"_Ennervate," _Lupin said, pointing his wand at Crabbe. He woke and looked up at the professor standing in front of him.

"Don't even try to run off, Crabbe. There is no point."

The boy nodded, admitting defeat.

"I'll go and get Goyle; you two stay here with Crabbe," Harry said, earning two nods in reply. He walked into the Room, and looked over at Goyle, who was beginning to stir. He went over and picked up Goyle's wand before he pulled the boy up.

"Don't even bother trying anything, Goyle," Harry hissed. "We have you both."

Goyle sighed and nodded, and didn't resist when Harry pulled him out into the corridor.

"Alright, now we have these two, let's get back to the office," said Lupin.

* * *

"So, put shortly, Draco has been kidnapped by Lucius, who is seeking revenge, most likely. He got here via the Vanishing Cabinets, meaning the one in Borgin and Burkes wasn't destroyed after all. Crabbe and Goyle assisted his escape. Correct?" Kingsley asked, glaring at Crabbe and Goyle. They were stood by the others, their eyes glued to the floor. They were either very fascinated by the carpet, or most likely, were doing their best not to get into any more trouble.

"Yes, that's right," Pansy confirmed, the anger clearly evident in her voice. Harry was pacing up and down the room.

"Well then, we definitely need to find out how to destroy those barriers now."

"No shit," Harry muttered.

"Potter!" McGonagall scolded, but Lupin shook his head at her.

"It's completely understandable, Minerva. They were- _are_ very close friends after all," he said, smiling slightly.

"We can't just bloody stand here!" said Harry, frustrated. "We have to get him out of there! Anything could be happening to him right now..."

"I know, Harry, but we need a plan. We can't just go in there and expect to be able to break the barrier all of a sudden," Kingsley reasoned.

"What about a house elf?" Pansy asked. "They can apparate through barriers, can't they?"

"Normally, yes, but these somehow have protection against that. We've never seen a barrier this strong."

All of them, with the exception of Crabbe and Goyle, turned to face the door when they heard someone knocking frantically at it.

"Professor McGonagall, can we come in please?" a voice called, which they recognised to be Ron's.

"Yes, come in," she called.

"We heard Harry running out of his room while we were... Talking, and we don't know where-"

He stopped when he noticed Pansy and Harry standing by Kingsley and the two professors.

"...Oh. Hey Harry, hey Pansy. What are you both doing here?" he looked at Crabbe and Goyle to the side of them, their heads still facing downwards. "What are _they _doing here?"

Professor McGonagall sighed and placed a hand to her forehead.

"Please, sit down. We have quite a bit to tell you."

After McGonagall had explained yet again what had happened earlier that evening, Pansy was blinking back tears, Harry looked as though he was going to murder someone, Crabbe and Goyle had hung their heads even lower, Hermione looked extremely worried and concerned, while Ron looked furious and seemed like he was stopping himself from making his way over to Crabbe and Goyle and beat the living daylights out of them.

"Oh, my... What are we going to do?" Hermione asked softly.

"We have to think of a way to destroy the barriers surrounding Malfoy Manor so we can get in there, get Draco out, and preferably Lucius, too," Kingsley said.

"That's your plan?" Ron sighed.

"Well, Ron, why don't you try coming up with a smartass plan, huh?" Harry snapped. His friend blinked a couple of times at him, looking hurt. Harry sighed and walked over to Ron to give him a hug.

"I'm sorry, Ron. It's just... Draco," Harry whispered.

"I know, Harry. I know," Ron whispered back, returning the hug. Once the two boys separated, Ron glared over at Crabbe and Goyle.

"How could you?" he demanded. "How could you practically hand Draco over to his own abusive father and think it was the right thing to do?"

"Ron..." Hermione started.

"No, he is right, Hermione. I have no idea how anyone could possibly do that to someone," Harry growled.

"Speaking of which, we still need to tell you what your punishment is," Kingsley said, turning to look at the two boys. They both took in a sharp breath, but they still said nothing and kept their eyes fixed on the ground. "Don't think that the fact that you have been quiet all this time has helped reduce your punishment, because it hasn't. The first course of action is to expel both of you from this school, of course."

"But, what about our O-" Goyle started, but he was interrupted by McGonagall.

"Are no more important than risking a poor boy's life. Do you not understand the seriousness of what you have done?"

"...We understand, ma'am," Crabbe said quietly. Goyle looked at him, but sighed and said nothing.

"Kingsley will be taking you to the Ministry to decide further action," she sighed, and looked over at the students. Hermione, Ron and Pansy were still in their nightclothes. "You may want to go and get dressed. It is 7:00 already."

They all nodded and went to their destinations, trying to keep the thought of what could be happening to Draco at that moment in time.

* * *

Lucius heaved himself out of the cabinet into his dungeons with Draco on his shoulder, and looked down into the eyes of Cais Zabini.

"As you can see, those two kids' help worked," he laughed, walking over to some shackles in the cold room. He placed his son down, and quickly began to untie the ropes. "I wasn't expecting Potter to come chasing after me, though. That stupid Parkinson girl even broke her door down, too. But, as you can see, I still managed."

"Lucius, this is all-"

"Don't you start with me now, Zabini," Lucius hissed, standing up and looking over at him once Draco's wrists were in the shackles. "We came to a compromise, didn't we? You help me; your precious wife stays safe. That is what we agreed on, isn't it?"

Cais sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at Draco. The poor boy was defenceless, but what could he do?

"Speaking of precious wives, where is Narcissa?" Lucius asked.

"She's in the library. She isn't aware of your plans."

"Oh, I don't think I will give her that burden, then," Lucius chuckled. "She seems to believe that there is so much potential in this boy. But I don't see it."

The man crouched by his unconscious son, smirking.

"I was supposed to inherit Vulpes' power, but I never did. It looks like you haven't either."

"Lucius, what are you talking about?" Cais asked.

"It's nothing that concerns you, Zabini. Go back upstairs, and keep an eye on those barriers. I highly doubt they will find a way to break through, but they need to be watched."

Cais sighed and nodded, and headed up the stairs. Lucius turned back to Draco, grinning when he saw that his son was beginning to stir.

"That sure took you a while," Lucius chuckled once Draco had fully regained consciousness. He looked up at his bound wrists, panicked. "There's no use trying to break free. It won't work and honestly, you wouldn't get very far even if you did."

"What was even the point in bringing me here?" Draco asked, daring to look at his father in the eyes. "They're going to find a way to break through, and when-"

He was interrupted by Lucius' gloved hand slapping him across the face.

"I'm not in the mood for your stupid beliefs, though they are rather amusing," Lucius chuckled. His hand clutched at Draco's throat, making the boy gasp for air. "They won't be breaking through, Draco. And if they do... Well, they probably wouldn't be here quick enough."

He released his grip on Draco's neck, and got himself up off the ground.

"Everything I do to you is what you deserve. You're a pathetic excuse for a Malfoy."

Draco wasn't even looking at his father when he was hit by the Cruciatus curse. His screams of pain echoed off the dungeon walls, the pain seeming like it was never going to end. He wasn't sure of how long it had been before the curse was lifted, and only found the strength to raise his head when he heard Lucius walking closer to him. He cried out in pain when Lucius' cane suddenly struck his face. He closed his eyes as he tried to block out the pain, feeling the warm blood trickling down his cheek.

The hits kept coming and coming, fury evident in Lucius's voice, for reasons Draco wasn't sure off. Why hadn't his mother come down to the dungeon? Unless there were silencing charms... He didn't know.

His father was shouting words at him, but he only managed to pick up a few.

"You deserve all of this... You always have..."

The amount of pain inflicted on his body was so great that by the time Lucius had exited the dungeon, Draco had barely noticed him leave. He rested his chin on his chest, breathing heavily. Thoughts which he had been able to push away recently started to return to him.

_I am pathetic... I deserve all of this..._

* * *

Breakfast that morning in Hogwarts felt empty without the loveable Draco sitting by them. Harry was sat where Draco usually sat, with Pansy next to him. When he looked over and saw that Draco wasn't there, Blaise came over to sit in the other seat besides Pansy.

"Hey guys, where is Draco?" he asked. Pansy could no longer handle the worry anymore, and burst into a great flood of tears. "Pansy, what's wrong?"

Concern spread across his face, and he put his arms around the trembling girl in an attempt to try to comfort her.

"Blaise, it's so horrible..." she sobbed into his chest.

"What is? What's going on?" he asked worriedly. Harry sighed, and put his arm around Pansy.

"I think it would be best until McGonagall comes," said Harry, softly. "I can imagine she is going to explain it."

A couple of moments later, Professor McGonagall walked through the Great Hall. It was very easy to see that she was immensely stressed by simply the expression on her face. She paused by Harry and his friends, giving them all a sad smile. She took her place after, and didn't bother to ask for the students' attention as all of them were already looking at her anyway.

"Students, I am afraid I have some terrifying news. I was not going to tell you, but it is better for me to say it to you myself rather than either it being spread around by a rumour or let the Daily Prophet tell it for you. In the early hours of this morning, Lucius Malfoy managed to break into the castle and kidnap Draco Malfoy."

Most of the Hall gasped, and automatically looked at Pansy sobbing in the arms of Blaise.

"Bus miss, how is that possible? I thought he could not escape the Manor without being caught?" a girl from the Gryffindor table asked.

"That is what they presumed, Miss Rogers. But, without our knowing, before he was secured in the Manor behind the barriers, he managed to obtain the Vanishing Cabinet connected to the one in the school. The one here was destroyed by Gregory Goyle, who assisted Lucius along with Vincent Crabbe. Both are currently being dealt with at the Ministry. Any other questions?"

"I have one, Professor McGonagall," a male Hufflepuff said.

"Go on, Mister Edwards."

"How do the Aurors plan on getting Draco out of the Manor?"

"...Well, they are currently trying to discover a way to break the barriers surrounding the Manor's grounds."

"So there isn't actually any solid plan?" a Slytherin called out.

"A friend and I have been figuring out a plan ourselves, which may result in being successful."

"If you can call us friends, Minerva," a voice drawled from the other side of the Hall. The students turned and gasped at the sight of Severus Snape making his way across the room.

"_You! _You heartless traitor!" Harry screamed, grabbing his wand out of his pocket and was about to get out of his seat before McGonagall stopped him.

"Harry, don't, I asked for him to come," she said hurriedly. He stared at her as though she had gone insane, as did many other students.

"He killed Dumbledore! Why would you ask him to come?" he demanded.

"Yes, but Dumbledore asked him to himself."

"That is _insane!_"

"I was questioned before coming here, Potter," Snape sighed. "They wouldn't allow me to return if couldn't be trusted."

"I still don't trust you myself. Why would you want to help, anyway?"

"Potter, I am not going to simple stand at the side lines while Lucius beats the life out of my only godson. I know that you think of me as a 'heartless traitor', but I am not the kind of person who would allow my family to get hurt, especially by their own father. Do you understand?"

Harry sighed, but nodded all the same. Pansy looked up at Snape, tears still visible in her eyes.

"Professor, can you help save him?" she asked, almost pleadingly. Blaise still had a protective arm around her shoulder. Snape slowly nodded, and her eyes lit up happily. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I do believe I can, Miss Parkinson. In fact, I don't think you would be able to break through without me. Or at least someone like me, anyway," he said.

"What do you mean?" Harry questioned, but then he looked down at Snape's left arm where the Dark Mark was hidden under his sleeve and understood. "How is _that _going to help us save Draco?"

"If you five would kindly follow Severus and I to my office, we can tell you what we have discussed," Professor McGonagall said. "Remus, could you come along too? We require your assistance."

Professor Lupin nodded and followed the others out of the Great Hall, wondering how he and Snape could have anything to do with the plan to rescue Draco from the evil clutches of his father.

_Please, Draco... _Harry thought to himself as he walked with the others. _Stay strong... Don't give up..._

* * *

So I didn't actually get this posted late considering I _did _say that I will be updating every 1-2 weeks, and it's been thirteen days. Go me!

My health has just been shit and I've not even been able to go to college because I can't handle buses and my transport still hasn't been sorted. So yay.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Just in case you were wondering, I am going to raise the rating towards the end. I'm fairly certain I don't need to raise it until then.

Reviews are appreciated - I do have bad health to deal with and I still try to write so any words from you guys is nice. Thanks for reading!


	9. Breaking into Malfoy Manor

Wow, an update in the space of five days? That's fairly quick for me.

This chapter is, however, pretty shorter than the last two. This is because I haven't extended it from the original story - I have only really laid it out differently, sorted out speech, just the usual tidying up.

I hope you enjoy it anyway!

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Nine – Breaking into Malfoy Manor

* * *

All of them were sat in Professor McGonagall's office, waiting for her to tell them her and Snape's plan.

"So, now that we are all here, what exactly is the plan you have both been discussing?" Lupin asked.

"Well, as you have probably already guessed, the barriers surrounding the Manor are made of dark magic," McGonagall started.

"Obviously," Harry muttered, still clearly furious. Hermione slapped his shoulder, sighed, and motioned for the headmistress to continue.

"So, we have come to the realisation that light magic is unable to fight the dark magic used for the barriers. All of the Aurors attempts have naturally been with light magic, not dark."

"So you believe that dark magic is the only way for us to destroy the barriers?" said Lupin.

"Yes, exactly," said McGonagall.

"What sort of dark magic would we use?" asked Hermione.

"As Severus has already mentioned, we will need him because of his mark. The mark is infused with dark magic, and we possibly wouldn't be able to do this without it."

"However, even though it is needed for our plan to be successful, my mark isn't enough on its own," said Snape. "So as well as me, we need other types of dark magic."

"That's where I come in, is it?" Lupin asked, earning a nod in reply.

"But why you?" Pansy questioned, puzzled.

"Because I am a werewolf," he said. When she didn't seem to understand, he continued. "Werewolves are known to be dark creatures. Or, at least, are known to contain dark blood. But the next three nights are a full moon, Severus. How would I be able to help in my wolf form if I were to transform while we were saving him? We obviously can't wait until the full moon is over."

"It is best for you to be in your wolf form," Snape said. "It'll be fine as long as we make sure you take enough Wolfsbane – if you act like a tame wolf and understand us, you are fine to be in your wolf form. It's best for you to be in contact with the barriers as a wolf rather than in your human form."

"Oh, of course," Lupin smiled.

"But we still require some sort of Malfoy magic, however. How are we going to get that?" McGonagall sighed. Pansy stared at them as though it was obvious.

"What about his wand?" she suggested.

"We thought of that, Miss Parkinson, but we presumed that Lucius would have brought it with him," said Snape. Pansy shook her head at him.

"He left it there. I had a quick glance in Draco's room before I chased after them both, and I saw it on his bedside table."

"Oh, that is brilliant!" McGonagall exclaimed joyfully.

"Because my wand is connected to Voldemort's, as well as myself being connected to him, could my magic could contribute to it too?" Harry asked.

"Yes, it could," Lupin smiled.

"This should be enough," said Snape.

"...So we can save him tonight?" Pansy asked softly. Both Snape and McGonagall nodded.

"I'm not sure if I can even wait that long. I want to kill that son-of-a-bitch and make sure it's extremely painful and-"

"Harry, that's enough mate, we get the message. It'll be fine, okay?" Ron tried to reassure his friend with.

"Sure, of course it'll be fine. Once I get my hands on that-"

"Potter, I think we have heard quite enough coming out of your mouth," Snape muttered, only just loud enough for them all to hear him clearly.

"You five better head to your lessons," said McGonagall, and stopped Harry when he tried to protest. "It will provide a better distraction for you than pacing around angrily, waiting for when we can leave. Off you go, now."

They all bid their farewells, and made their way to their first lesson, which was already halfway over. Lupin hurried off to his own class, which was being watched over by a seventh year who had a free lesson, while Harry made his way to Potions with Ron, Hermione and Snape, who was taking over Potions now he had returned. The professor burst into the classroom in his usual manner and style, and walked over to the startled Professor Slughorn.

"You do understand that I am taking over Potions now, do you not?" Snape questioned.

"Yes, of course I do. I was just giving the class a quick check on what we have done these last few weeks," Slughorn replied, as he put his things into his bag.

"Alright, good. Farewell then, Slughorn. I'm pleased to see that my classroom was just how it was before I left it," Snape said. Slughorn smiled at Snape's version of a thanking, and reached out his hand. Snape shook it briefly, and Slughorn waved the class farewell.

"I am hoping that you will all be paying just as much attention as you would do normally, even with the current circumstances..." he said, trying his best not to look over at the empty seat next to Harry. When the students did, however, he sighed and fell down into his chair, resting his head in his hands.

"Alright, get out your textbooks and continue to revise what you have done so far. We will start properly next lesson," he said. Mutters went around the room at the professor's different attitude. "And _no talking. _Merlin, some peace and quiet would be nice."

The students saw the stress on Snape's face, as much as he tried to conceal it, so they did as they were asked and read through their notes. Harry wasn't quite sure whether he should have been satisfied by the silence of the classroom or disappointed. He naturally wanted some peace, but the silent classroom didn't provide much distraction for him, either. He sighed deeply, and opened his textbook on the first topic. He tried to revise the best he could, but to no prevail. He couldn't help but think of his missing friend from every part of the notes he read. Every little thing reminded him of Draco, even something as simple as ingredients. For the next few minutes he attempted to concentrate, but gave up when he realised it was simply not going to happen. He looked over at Hermione, to see how she was coping. She was looking down at her book, but he could tell that she wasn't properly focused on the words. She caught Harry's eye, and smiled sadly, before looking back down at her book. He then looked over at Ron, who didn't seem to be doing much better than Hermione was. He looked up at Harry and gave him a smile similar to Hermione's. Harry then glanced around the room, trying to think of some sort of way to keep himself distracted. Professor Snape sighed when he noticed this.

"Mister Potter, as much as you would like for it to be possible, you cannot revise by merely looking around the room aimlessly. Please could you actually keep your eyes on your book so you could perhaps at least _try _to get a good grade?"

"Sorry, professor," Harry mumbled, and sighed before he looked down at his book again. The class expected the professor to take some points from Gryffindor, but instead, he got up from his seat and stood in front of Harry's desk.

"I understand how you must feel, Potter. It's hard for all of us. Read, it could help distract you, at least for a little while," he said softly. Well, as softly as he was able to manage. Harry looked at him in slight shock, but smiled nonetheless.

"Thank you, sir."

Snape merely nodded, and went back to his desk at the front. A few minutes later, he spoke up again.

"Alright, it is time for your next lesson; despite how I would much rather teach you than the first year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws."

A few of the students sniggered, and they all left the room.

"Could this day get any slower?" Harry groaned as they made their way through the corridors.

"I know exactly what you mean – I feel like I've gone through a whole day already," Pansy sighed.

"At least we have Defence Against the Dark Arts now. That normally provides a good distraction," Hermione smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, but it won't be the same without Draco," Harry said quietly. They all looked at him silently, and Ron put his arm around his shoulders.

"He'll be alright, Harry. By tomorrow, he will be back with us, his usual self," he said, trying to reassure him.

"But what if..." he stopped, shaking his head. "Never mind. Thinking like that won't help. Let's just get to lesson."

He could not help but have the image of what Draco was possibly going through dwell on his mind yet again as they took their seats. Even though part of him knew that nothing could have been done, especially because Crabbe and Goyle had helped, he still felt guilty how he and the rest were just going on with their usual day while Draco was being held captive in his own home by his father and he also blamed himself. He was the Saviour – he was obliged to protect the wizarding world, and he hadn't been able to protect his close friend?

_I should have simply waited outside for Lucius; I would have been able to stop him... I should have been able to fight off Crabbe and Goyle..._

He told himself it was ridiculous – no one was to blame but those despised three, but those thoughts just wouldn't leave him be.

"Harry? Please, I know that you currently have a lot of things on your mind, but I would like you to pay more attention," said Professor Lupin, startling Harry a little.

"Sorry, sir, I will pay attention."

The professor simply nodded, partly knowing that the boy would most likely sink straight back into his thoughts again.

"Alright, as I was saying, it is clear that these are very dangerous times, and we need to work on your defensive and offensive spells. Please, with your partner, practise ones you currently know so that I can see where you are at," he ordered. He turned to Harry, smiling sadly. "You can just pick any pair to work with."

Harry nodded, and looked between the pairs of Hermione and Ron and Pansy and Blaise. He smiled in forgiveness at the Slytherin pair and went over to join his Golden Trio. Pansy and Blaise didn't mind, of course – they knew how close the three were, and got on with their own practise.

"Hey, Harry," Hermione and Ron both greeted simultaneously.

"Hi, guys," Harry replied, though he was still slightly lost in his thoughts.

"Harry, if you're blaming yourself for what happened, please don't. It isn't your fault, it's only Lucius', Crabbe's and Goyle's fault," Hermione said softly, with Ron nodding in agreement.

"She's right, Harry, you shouldn't blame yourself. There was nothing you could do."

Harry was about to protest, but merely sighed, knowing there was no use in arguing, especially with how stubborn both Hermione and Ron could be. He actually was glad that Lupin had decided to make this a practical lesson, as it provided more of a distraction than simply reading through notes, like he had to do in Potions. He also managed to let out some of his anger by casting offensive spells – though, naturally, avoided causing any damage to either of his two best friends. Soon enough, the lesson had ended, and it was now time for them to go to the Great Hall for lunch.

"Harry, could I have a quick word with you before you go, please?" called Professor Lupin as Harry was heading towards the door. He nodded at his four friends to on to the Great Hall without him.

"What's the matter, professor?" he asked.

"Well, I obviously knew that you were going to be distracted in this lesson. I was a bit myself – I think we all are. But I can't help wonder... Well, I know that after Sirius passed away..." Lupin paused for a moment and took a deep breath before he continued. "...You did seem to blame yourself quite a bit. I just want to make sure that it isn't the same this time. I wanted to ask if you are blaming yourself for Draco's predicament?"

_Not all this again... _Harry thought to himself, looking down at his shoes. Lupin noticed this and sighed as he rested a hand on his forehead, in a similar fashion to how Snape did earlier on in Potions.

"Harry, you mustn't blame yourself for what happened to Draco. It is not your fault that Lucius escaped with him. He is a very powerful wizard, and he even had unexpected backup, too. There was nothing you could have done, and we _will_ save him, I promise you."

"But... I am meant to save people, Remus. It's what I do. I can't help but feel incredibly guilty over what happened. I know that it isn't my fault, but I still can't help but blame myself. Everyone expects me to be an amazing wizard, the Chosen One, and someone with that title should be able to protect one of their best friends. I can't help but feel that way," Harry admitted. Lupin smiled and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I understand, Harry. But just remember, even though you have that title, it doesn't mean you have the ability to do the impossible. I know that you feel as though it is up to you to protect and help everyone, and I am proud of you being so courageous – a true Gryffindor – but that does not make this your fault. What matters is what we will all do tonight to get Draco out of that Manor and away from his father. Do you understand, Harry?"

Harry hesitated, before he nodded, smiling.

"I do understand, professor. You are completely right. It _isn't _my fault, and I _shouldn't _blame myself. I should be focusing on getting him out of there, rather than on how he got there in the first place. Thank you, Remus, you helped me a lot," he said, wrapping his arms around the professor.

"It's no problem at all, Harry. Come on, we should be heading over to the Great Hall. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

* * *

Harry sat in the same seat he had that morning, and his friends greeted him while they picked out their food to eat.

"What did Professor Lupin want to talk to you about, Harry?" Hermione asked as she reached across the table for a sausage roll.

"Basically what you and Ron were trying to tell me, about how I shouldn't blame myself for what has happened to Draco. You three are right. I knew before it wasn't my fault, but it took all of your convincing to actually open my eyes fully," Harry explained.

"You were blaming yourself for what happened to him?" Pansy asked softly. Harry nodded, feeling a little awkward.

"I'm glad you're not blaming yourself anymore, Harry," Blaise said, smiling. The others nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, I am too. Like I said to Remus - I should be focusing on getting him out of there, and not on how he got in there in the first place," said Harry.

"That's right, mate. We're definitely getting him out of there – no questions asked," Ron said confidently.

The group ate the rest of their meal silently, all thinking about the night they had ahead of them.

* * *

The rest of the day went even slower for the five of them, and also for McGonagall, Lupin and Snape, too. But finally, they had all eaten their dinner quickly and it was time for them to go. The eight of them left the school's ground, so they were all able to apparate.

"Alright, we're all here. Pansy, have you brought Draco's wand?" McGonagall asked. The Slytherin nodded as she held up the said wand. Lupin looked up at the sky, noticing the sun setting and took a sharp intake of breath.

"It's only a few minutes left before I transform. Can you pass me my Wolfsbane, Severus?" he asked.

"Here, take it," Snape said, handing him the potion. Lupin thanked him and downed the potion in one great gulp, shuddering.

"Alright, each of you hold either me, Remus, Severus or Hermione," McGonagall ordered. Harry grabbed onto Remus, Ron was already holding Hermione's hand, Blaise held onto Severus while Pansy held onto McGonagall's arm. "Let's go get him."

The four pairs apparated and arrived outside of Malfoy Manor, where they were greeted by Kingsley.

"So you have everything prepared for your plan?" he asked, as some other Aurors walked over to them.

"Yes, it should work. We-"

She was interrupted by a loud yell of pain coming from Lupin.

"Wow, I sure know how to time things..." he chuckled, before he let out another yell. Snape held onto his arm for comfort.

"Are you alright? Is it working?" he asked, concerned. His attitude surprised the students, as none of them had ever seen the man act so kindly. Lupin nodded, and took a deep breath before the transformation took place. In one last scream of agony, a beautiful brown wolf now stood in the place where Lupin had once stood. Snape breathed out in relief.

"Wow, he looks just like a normal wolf. This is a lot different than third year," Harry said, amazed by how powerful the potion was. Moony looked at him and shook his head. He howled, and ran towards the gate.

"I had almost forgotten about that," Snape said, walking ahead. "Come on, let's go."

Ron shook his head at Harry in disbelief, before the rest of them followed Snape and Moony. The wolf sat by the gate, and wagged his tail slightly while he whimpered.

"Don't whine," Snape said, sighing when Moony grinned and whined louder to annoy him.

"Let's just do this," Harry said impatiently as he took out his wand.

"Moony, come over here and stand by me," Snape ordered. "I need you to put one of your paws on the barrier when I say so, okay?"

Moony nodded and let out a small howl to show he understood.

"Alright, good. Potter, you come over here on my right."

Harry nodded, and walked over to him without a word.

"Parkinson, you stand next to Potter. The rest of you better stand back; this could be big," he warned. They did as they were told and took several large steps back.

"Are you all ready?"

He received two nods in response, and a lick on his hand by Moony. Both Harry and Pansy were shocked when Snape smiled slightly. He rolled up his black sleeve to real his Dark Mark, and pressed it against the barrier, wincing when the magic collided with his own. He looked to his right at the two students.

"Both of you touch the barriers with the tips of your wands... Well, with Potter's and Draco's wands," he said. They both followed the command, and the barrier paled to a lighter green.

"Moony, go and place a paw on it."

The wolf let out a small bark, and placed one brown paw on the barrier, which turned it into an eerie white. Snape took out his wand with his free hand and pointed it at the barrier.

"Brace yourselves," he said, breathing in deeply. "_Reducto!"_

The barrier smashed into a thousand pieces, the force throwing them back into the others. They groaned, with the exception from one whimper, as they got themselves up from the ground.

"We did it," Harry whispered, grinning.

* * *

I am so awful with cliffhangers.

So I just wanted to say something after getting a guest review -

Some things that I have mentioned in this story, which some people may have noticed (if you read ASoDM you should understand these things), _will _come into play and be explained later in the story. In the original, I hadn't shown any signs of the later story - mainly because I hadn't thought of a couple of things until several chapters into the story. But as I naturally know what is going to happen now, I've wanted to mention things earlier on.

So yeah, it may be good to take note of some small things you may have overlooked x)

Anyway, thanks for reading, and also thank you for your support! It really does mean a lot to me.

As always, reviews are appreciated. Thanks again!


	10. The Rescue

Anyone surprised at how fast I'm updating?

Because I am.

I've started a new fanfic which I will explain more about at the end - for now, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Ten – The Rescue

* * *

The five students, three professors and Kingsley walked down the stone pathway leading to the grand doors of the manor, while the Aurors on duty remained outside just in case Lucius tried to escape on foot or on broom. They made sure to look around cautiously as they walked – the master of the household was very cunning, and they had to be careful.

"Is it only Lucius and Narcissa who are in the manor, or are there any other Death Eaters?" Harry asked Kingsley, who shook his head.

"No Death Eaters have naturally been able to get into the Manor, and it seems as though they have left here now that we know that this is their headquarters. If there are any in there, it's going to be very few."

They eventually made it to the doors. The door had a lot less magic used on it than the barriers, and Snape was able to open it with simply the magic he possessed from his Mark. The hall was incredibly empty, and it seemed as though it was going on for eternity. The only sound was their footsteps as they walked forward with precaution.

"Isn't it a bit quiet in here?" Harry whispered.

"He must have used a silencing charm – wherever they both are," Snape said, gritting his teeth.

"Wait, listen!" Pansy said. They stopped walking and noticed a couple of voices that seemed to be coming from the library.

"Come on," Snape said, and they silently walked over to the library's open door.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" a woman's voice asked – it was Narcissa.

"He's threatened me... I couldn't let my wife get hurt, but I can't allow this to happen to Draco either."

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Blaise said. Both Cais and Narcissa looked over in surprise.

"I-I... Lucius threatened to harm your mother if I didn't keep watch over the barriers."

"It looks like you failed that task," said Narcissa. "How did you break through?"

"We haven't got time for this, we need to go _now!" _Harry exclaimed. Before they left, however, Severus placed a hand on Narcissa's arm, looking at her in the eyes.

"Narcissa, you have to pick the right thing to do now," he murmured. "You have stood in the dark for far too long now, and we both know whose side you really want to be on – it's either Draco or Lucius."

Narcissa nodded, already walking out of the room.

"Let's go. Cais said they're in the dungeons."

They hurried through the corridors of the manor and eventually made it to the entrance to the dungeons. They opened the door and quickly ran down the steps, to find Lucius already looking back at them. His wand was pointed at the base of Draco's neck, and he had a very threatening look on his face. They gasped at the sight of Draco behind his father. Both of his arms were chained to the wall behind him, and his skin was covered in cuts and bruises, even more so than over the summer. The entire colour in his face had drained, and his usual bright, almost silver eyes were dull and lifeless, as though he had given up on any fight he may have had in him. Narcissa was covering her mouth with her hand, and was starting to pale herself.

"How _dare _you do this!" Harry screamed at him. He put a foot forward but stopped the moment that Lucius dug his wand deeper into his son's neck, making him whimper in pain.

"Don't you come any closer, Potter! You wouldn't want something to happen to your dear Draco, now would you?" Lucius purred.

"You twisted bastard," Harry growled. Lucius merely chuckled, but then he narrowed his eyes at Snape and Cais.

"I thought you were supposed to be my friends, but now you are against me?" Lucius said. He looked over Narcissa. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I'm..." Narcissa paused, but then she raised her head, looking at him and standing with much more confidence than she had ever had in Lucius' presence. "I'm not going to stand in the dark and allow you to do this to our son, Lucius. I've always been too afraid to stand up to you. It's always been Draco who has protected me – but now, I'm going to do what's right. You need to be stopped."

"You are a father, Lucius," Snape added, glaring at Lucius. "I could never see why you treat Draco like you do. I honestly find it sickening how you have been – and if I knew about this sooner, I would have done everything in my power to stop you."

"He is not worth to be treated nicely," Lucius shrugged. "He is a poor excuse for a Malfoy. I might as well just leave him here to die."

His eyes moved over to Draco, and he smirked.

"...Which seems like it would be easy to do. You're going to need a high amount of luck in order to help him."

Before any of them could react, Lucius had stepped away from Draco and apparated out of the building. Harry let out a horrified gasp when he saw that Draco's skin had turned into a sickly grey, and he had only just noticed how much blood surrounded him. He rushed over to him and lowered to his knees. He gently held Draco's head up while Snape and Narcissa attempted to break the chains around his wrists without doing any harm to him.

"H-Harry... I... I-I feel so c-cold..." he whimpered, his weak body falling against Harry when his arms were released. Harry quickly caught him and lifted his head once more.

"Draco, please, try to keep your eyes open," Harry begged, looking into Draco's closing eyes frantically.

"I-I'll try... But I just want... T-To sleep..."

Harry took off his robe and wrapped it around Draco before he picked him up for the third time that year, this time conscious.

"Draco, please!" Harry pleaded.

"I-I will, Harry..." Draco whispered, resting his head on his friend's chest.

"We can't apparate with him like this!" Narcissa cried, brushing her son's hair off his forehead. "He's far too weak!"

"Do we have to fly him there?" Hermione asked.

"We will have to," McGonagall sighed.

"He has a spare broom in his room – Severus, could you go and get it?" Narcissa asked, her eyes still fixed on her son's face. "Get mine while you're there – you know where my room is."

Snape quickly nodded, and raced out of the room. Harry carefully carried Draco up the stairs, refusing the help that was offered to him by the others, though Narcissa walked close behind to make sure Draco was okay. Once they eventually made it up the stairs, Snape was already there with the brooms and passed them to Narcissa.

"Alright, I will go and inform the rest of the Aurors about Draco. Harry and Narcissa will fly with Draco to St Mungos – the rest of us will fly there..." Kingsley started.

"Wait, maybe it would be best to bring him back to Hogwarts," McGonagall protested. "It is the safest place for him to be right now, without the Vanishing Cabinets."

"But surely-"

"Just decide already! We're losing time, here!" Snape snapped, pressing the back of his hand on Draco's forehead.

"J-Just... Take me... To H-Hogwarts..." Draco whispered, before his eyes shuttered closed and his body went even more limp.

"We have to go there now," said McGonagall. "Keep heading north – I will let Poppy know you're coming."

Pansy held onto the professor's arm once more, Ron held onto Hermione's hand, and Blaise hung onto the arm of his father's rather than Snape's, as Moony had jumped into the arms of the startled professor and after he gave Snape a couple of licks, he looked at Draco and whimpered. Harry walked as fast as he could to the exit, with Narcissa right by his side, and the rest had already apparated just outside of Hogwarts.

"Here, let me help you," Narcissa said as she helped Harry make Draco sit as comfortable as possible on the broom in front of him. He thanked her and they both took off into the air. When Draco let out a small whimper in his sleep, Harry pulled him closer to his body.

"Hang in there Draco, please hang in there..." he whispered.

* * *

The others waited worryingly in the infirmary for Draco, Harry and Narcissa to arrive. Kingsley had to stay in the Ministry with the other Aurors to start their investigation on where Lucius could have gone, but asked them to let him know as soon as possible if Draco was alright. Mrs Pomfrey was furious when she was told about what had happened to Draco during his capture, and quickly got everything ready for his arrival. Perhaps she did this too quickly, as after she finished doing this, they were all either standing or sitting silently, wishing that time would go faster. Ron had placed an arm around Hermione, and Blaise copied the gesture with Pansy, who accepted it happily. She had her head buried in his shoulder, trying to not let her tears fall. McGonagall stood by Pomfrey, looking unbelievably stressed. Snape was sat on the end of a bed, stroking a whining Moony, who rubbed his brown head against the professor's leg. He stood up after a minute, rubbing his forehead.

"Where are they?" he groaned. "They should be here by now!"

Just as he had finished his sentence, Harry was walking into the infirmary with Draco in his arms, Narcissa close behind him. He put Draco into the closest bed with the help of Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh my goodness, I cannot believe this..." she whispered, before she cast a spell to check his vitals. A worried expression grew on her face, and she quickly grabbed a vial nearby containing a red liquid. "Potter, go get a damp cloth from over there, please."

Harry nodded, and rushed to the other side of the room while Pomfrey gently made Draco swallow the potion. Harry soon came back with the cloth, and he already knew what to do. He began to wipe Draco's brow with the cloth while Pomfrey set to work applying numerous creams and potions to his body, her face screwed up in concentration. The others watched the two silently, and all knew that if Pomfrey was to do anything wrong, it could be the difference between Draco's survival and his death. After she was done, she checked his vitals once more, and sighed deeply in relief when she found they were almost back to normal.

"That was a close one," she sighed again. "If you were to arrive with him just a couple of minutes later, we probably would have lost him."

"So he will be alright, madam?" Pansy whispered, and smiled joyfully when she received a nod in response.

"I do recommend you all go, now," said Madam Pomfrey. "You can come back as soon as he wakes up."

"I have a room for you in the Slytherin Dungeons, Narcissa," Snape said. She nodded and smiled, before planting a kiss on Draco's forehead.

"I will be back soon, darling," she whispered. She and the others began to leave the room, with the exception of Harry, who was still sitting in the chair by Draco's side.

"I am going to be realistic, here," said Pomfrey, raising an eyebrow. "You're probably not going to leave this room until he wakes up, aren't you?"

"Nope," he grinned. She simply shook her head, trying not to smile back.

"Fine, you can stay. But the rest of you have to go."

"But that's not fair! We're-" Blaise started, but he immediately stopped speaking when Pansy grabbed hold of his hand.

"No, we understand, Madam! Come on, let's leave them alone!" Pansy chirped as she pulled a confused Blaise out of the room, while the others followed. Snape stopped at the doorway and turned around to look at Harry, with Moony standing by his side.

"Goodnight, Potter. Thank you for your help tonight," he said, and actually gave him a slight smile. He walked out of the room behind a shocked Harry could say anything, with Moony close behind. Pomfrey chuckled at the expression on Harry's face.

"He does have a nice side, you know."

"I... I can see that," he replied, smiling. Pomfrey yawned, and it was then that Harry saw just how exhausted the poor woman was after the ordeal.

"You should go and get some rest, madam. I will call for you if anything happens," Harry said. The woman nodded at him in gratitude and went back to her office. Harry's eyes moved back to Draco and he smiled sadly. Luckily, due to Pomfrey's work, the cuts and bruises were all beginning to fade, but you could still see them a little. Harry looked at them all, asking himself how a man could do this to someone, especially his own son. Almost every part of Draco's fragile body was marked, and it shook every now and then because of the high amount of torture it had been put under from the Cruciatus curse. There was no reason of it. Draco had just wanted to grow up as a normal child, and take his own path in life, but he was punished for that. The thought of this sickened Harry to no end.

His thoughts were interrupted when Draco started whimpering and shaking in his sleep. Harry quickly grabbed Draco's hand softly, and almost immediately after, Draco had calmed down and was now sleeping soundly. Harry smiled in relief and rested his head on Draco's chest gently, and fell asleep in that very position.

* * *

"Potter? Mister Potter? Wake up!"

Harry groaned loudly and opened his eyes. He noticed that it was already morning, and his head was laid on Draco's chest, with his right hand still holding Draco's left. He let go and sat up, wincing and rubbing the pain in his back and neck.

"It's no wonder that you're hurting, you've been like that for hours! Take that potion there, it will help," said Madam Pomfrey, pointing at a nearby potion. He thanked her and drank it, sighing in relief when he already started to feel the pain starting to fade away. She simply nodded and checked on Draco, smiling when he saw how much he was already healing.

"Thank goodness he is alright," she said. "I was so worried when you brought him in. I thought I wasn't going to be able to save him."

"Thank you so much, madam. I couldn't be grateful that-"

He stopped when Draco started groaning. Pomfrey rushed to the side of the bed, but smiled.

"Is he alright?" Harry asked.

"Of course he is. It seems like he's waking up," she replied. Harry sighed in relief and hurried back to Draco's side.

"Draco, can you hear me?"

"H-Harry? Is that you?" Draco said softly, blinking up at Harry.

"Draco, thank Merlin you're awake!" Harry exclaimed. Draco nodded slowly and smiled, but winced when he tried to sit up. Pomfrey sighed and handed him a potion.

"Take this, it should help," she said. He drank the potion, shuddering, and thanked her. She reached out a little too quickly when she was going to take the empty bottle back from him, and he flinched.

"I'm sorry," he said, handing her back the bottle. He sat up in the bed, as the pain had reduced a little.

"There's no need for you to apologise, Mister Malfoy," she said as she placed the bottle down.

"Thank you for helping me – both of you," Draco said, smiling. Harry returned the smile, though his reply was interrupted by the entrance of Snape, Narcissa and Lupin.

"Draco, you're awake!" Narcissa cried joyfully, rushing over to her son's side.

"How are you feeling?" Snape asked, standing by the bed as Narcissa had already sat herself in the other chair besides it.

"Okay, I suppose. I feel a lot better than I did before, anyway," the blonde smiled.

"It's good to see you better, Draco," said Remus.

"Thank you," Draco replied. He turned to his mother. "I wasn't sure if you knew what was happening to me. I was hoping you weren't going to come down to the dungeons, in case Lucius would have hurt you too."

"I only knew about what Lucius had done when Cais had told me," said Narcissa. "But I'm not going to allow myself to fear him anymore – and no matter how much you worry for me, I'm going to stand up to him. This was the final straw for me. I'm not allowing him to be like this."

Draco smiled at her softly, though they were interrupted by Pansy running into the infirmary.

"Draco, you're awake!" she called as she dragged Blaise inside in by his hand.

"Yes I am, Pansy," he chuckled. When they both stood by the bed, Draco looked down to see them both holding hands. "When did this happen? I was only gone for a bloody day!"

"Well, we've been getting closer recently," Pansy said, blushing slightly. "He was comforting me a lot yesterday, and we both confessed to each other that we want to be more than friends. So we're together now."

"I'm so happy for the two of you," he said joyfully, and looked over at the door when it opened once more.

"How is..." Hermione started, but smiled when she saw Draco sitting up in his bed and looking at her. "Oh, he's awake!"

She walked into the infirmary, with Ron by her side and Professor McGonagall close behind.

"Oh, thank goodness!" McGonagall exclaimed. "How are you feeling, Draco?"

"Better, thank you," Draco replied, smiling.

"It's nice to see you well, mate," said Ron.

"So, how did you all manage to break into the manor, then?" Draco asked.

"Well, we just combined a few forces of dark magic, really," Hermione explained.

"I used my magic and Dark Mark," said Snape.

"I simply put my paw on the barrier as Moony – my werewolf form," said Remus. "I took a good amount of Wolfsbane so I acted like a perfectly tamed wolf, and I remember everything."

"I just used my wand, as both that and my magic are connected to Voldemort," said Harry.

"And I used your wand. Speaking of which..."

Pansy reached into her pocket and pulled out Draco's wand. She handed it to him, and he thanked her and placed it on the bedside table besides him.

"Thank Merlin he was stupid enough to leave it behind," he chuckled. He turned to Harry, with an amused smile on his face. "So, now you have a grand total of having to carry me into this room three times. I'm not sure about you, but I fancy trying to prevent that number from increasing any further."

"Yeah, maybe we should," Harry laughed.

"Anyway, we all better get going to the Great Hall," said McGonagall. They made their way to the door, but like the previous evening, Harry didn't even budge.

"I want to stay here," he stated simply. Draco looked at him and smiled.

"Please can he stay?" Draco asked, turning to Pomfrey, who sighed.

"Alright, fine..." she said, knowing that there was no use in arguing with him. "But the rest of you, out."

They said their goodbyes and exited the room. Madam Pomfrey excused herself and went into her office. Once everyone, except from Harry, had left the room, Draco sighed deeply.

"Draco, what's wrong?" Harry asked, looking concerned.

"I... I just feel so weak, Harry," he responded, looking down at his hands.

"You are bound to, with the amount of damage that you took..."

"Obviously that, of course. But I meant me myself. I should have been stronger, not have let him treat me this way all of these years. I could have fought back, I'm sure, but I never did. I just took it pathetically each and every time. Now look what it has done."

He burst into tears after he finished talking, burying his face in his hands. Harry put his arms around his friend, pulling him close.

"Draco, I don't want you to ever say again that you're weak. You're anything but. Most people, if not everyone else, wouldn't be able to cope with it as well as you do."

"But maybe if I had just been stronger, he wouldn't treat me as badly as he does now... Maybe he would only be like he was when I was younger."

"Draco, do _not _blame yourself at _all _for his actions. He shouldn't have treated you like that at all, and you shouldn't have to deal with this. It is all him, and what he has done to you is unforgivable. You've even tried your best to protect your mother over the years and always made sure she was never hurt, only you. That's what makes you a strong person, and shows that you have courage. Don't say that you are not."

"Thank you, Harry..." Draco said softly, wiping his eyes.

"It's no problem, Draco. I'm only speaking the truth."

They stayed in each other's arms for a few more moments before Draco broke the silence.

"Harry?"

"What is it, Draco?"

"...I want to tell you everything. Well, obviously not literally, but some things I want to say. Can I?" he asked.

"Of course you can, Draco."

Draco smiled and took a deep breath, wondering how he could start.

* * *

Yay, Draco is saved!

So about that new story - it's a Wrestling one, but I think some of you may enjoy it even if you aren't a part of the fandom. It's basically an AU which, even though it has the wrestlers in it and has a reference to the Authority, isn't actually about wrestling itself. You'd see what I mean if you read the summary and/or story.

I am honestly loving writing it! In all honesty, I find it more fun to write than this one, but that's only because I've never written one like it before. As this is a rewrite, it isn't as fun. I will still update this one though, of course.

Anyway, thank you for reading, and as always, reviews are appreciated! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	11. Confessions

Wow. I am on a role with these updates.

But I don't think I'm going to carry on posting this regularly - It is, after all, October soon. I want to spend this month trying to animate more often to a couple of creepier songs in celebration of Halloween! (My Youtube is Skia Wolf so be sure to check them out ^o^)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter ~

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Eleven – Confessions

* * *

"Well, to be honest... I don't really know where I should start," Draco laughed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"What sort of thing do you want to tell me?" Harry asked. Draco was silent for a couple of moments. What _did _he want to say?

One thing that had been on his mind was to confess. He was planning on at least _trying _to that previous day – but, of course, he wasn't able to. Being locked in the Malfoy Dungeons prevents that, naturally. But that wasn't all that he wanted to tell Harry. He just wanted to spill his heart out. He wanted to tell him things in his life that he had never told a living soul – not even Pansy.

"I just feel as though I'd be able to get over what has happened in my life if I... Well, talk about it more than I have," Draco started. "I just want to tell someone some things that have happened to me and how I've felt, not just the things that I had to confess to Kingsley."

"If it makes you feel any better, then of course I will listen," Harry said with a reassuring smile.

"Thank you; I just don't really know _how _I can start..."

"Well, how about I start for you?" he asked, and Draco nodded. "...If you don't mind me asking, why did Lucius first hit you when you were three? Bloody hell, that sounded so much better in my head, I'm so sorry."

Draco just simply smiled to show that it was fine before he answered.

"Don't worry about it; that's exactly what I wanted to talk about anyway. Well, I can remember it clearly. I had gone ahead of my fath-" he stopped, shaking his head. "No, I had gone ahead of _Lucius, _and I had bumped into Ron. He doesn't remember it, I don't think. We were both fairly young, after all. Anyway, I was speaking to him for a minute, and I had thought that I had finally found someone who I could have as my best friend. But then both of our parents came along. Lucius told me not to speak to them ever again, in his usual manner, and Mrs Weasley said to Ron that he needs to stay away from the Malfoys as they are bad people. I don't actually blame her for that, with how Lucius has always treated the Weasleys, especially her husband. He pulled me around the corner and slapped me hard across my face. I didn't understand why he did that. My mother was so shocked, and I still remember her expression. I will always hate him for that day – not just because he hurt me, but because he hurt _her," _he said, anger flickering in his grey eyes. Harry gently placed a hand on Draco's arm in comfort. Draco flinched slightly, it was barely even noticeable, but it still angered Harry even further. No person should automatically flinch when someone touches them, especially if their own father was the cause of it.

"I can't believe how he is, Draco. I seriously don't understand him at all."

"Neither do I, Harry. I never have, and probably never will," Draco replied sadly.

"Do you want to stop talking about this?" Harry asked. Draco shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. It won't make me any stronger if I always avoided talking about it. The only way I can get over the past and look into the future is if I talk about it," he said. Harry nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"After that day, I was scared of him hitting me again, and the thought of angering him again absolutely terrified me. About a week later, I started to cry when he shouted at me for something – I can't remember what. He slapped me again and told me not to be such a baby, and such behaviour was simply not acceptable for a Malfoy. After that, he didn't hit me very much, only once a week or so when he was angry. But that changed on my fifth birthday. I had accidentally dropped a beautiful ornament of a dragon that Pansy had given to me, whose family I met on my fourth birthday and had attended my party on this one. Well, I say party, but it was more of a chance for Lucius to show off that his only son was growing up. Anyway, I had dropped it after all of the guests had left, and I had to take all of my presents from them upstairs. He was furious that I broke such an expensive gift, and out of fury, hit me at the side of my head, using his cane for the first time. It cut me deeply right behind my ear and onto my neck, which left my first ever scar," he said, and moved several strands of platinum blonde hair away from his ear, which revealed a long, faded scar.

"I don't know how someone could do that to you. I seriously can't," Harry said softly, looking at the mark of a criminal.

"None of us can. He had walked out of the room after that, I don't know where he went. Mother had been upstairs and when she came downstairs, she heard me crying. She ran over to me and almost started crying too when she saw the cut, and asked me what happened. I said that I had broken the ornament, and he wasn't happy. She repaired it with her wand, and quickly got a piece of cloth and started to wipe away the blood. I was feeling a bit faint after it, so she picked me up and carried me upstairs. But after that, Lucius seemed to have got some sort of like for the hitting. He would do it more often from then on, and much harder, than he used too, as well. It would be for anything – something I said, a look, sometimes it seemed like nothing at all. When I was ten, one time while they were both gone, I spent the hours reading a book – mother had always encouraged me to read – about a family. It was a happy book, and I didn't understand exactly _why _the father in it acted like he did. There was no hitting, no shouting, nothing like that at all. I didn't understand _why _there wasn't anything like that. It was just love and affection. I didn't remember Lucius ever giving me a hug, or anything that the father in the book did. So, when they had returned, I made the terrible mistake of asking them why the father in the book was like how he was, and Lucius wasn't. He was _furious. _He started yelling at me that he had told me he was just like any other father, and did I not have any respect for him? That's when I received my first ever Crucio as a punishment. It was only for a few seconds, before mother got him to stop. He's done it for longer... Much longer," he said, shuddering at the memory of whole minutes of being held under curse during his capture.

"My God, Draco. That man has seriously got something wrong with him," Harry said.

"Yes, I think it actually does. And I'm being very serious," Draco replied.

"Anyway, you can carry on, if you want to."

Draco nodded, and continued.

"I had never felt something as painful as that in my life. It was cruel, for a child to be held in that much pain, even if it _was _only for a few seconds. After that, he left the room like he normally does, and mother brought me upstairs to my room. She hugged and kissed me, before going back downstairs, probably to try and calm Lucius down somehow. After she left, I buried my head in my pillow, and just cried. I knew from that day on that I didn't have a normal father. I knew that he had lied to me for years, about him being a good father. I was no longer proud of my name – in fact, I despised it. Soon enough, it was the start of first year. I decided that first morning that I was just going to wear a mask, and make people believe I was proud of my name and loved my father. I, of course, also had to learn a concealing charm early. And then... Well, I don't know how to say this next part..." he said, laughing awkwardly.

"Why, what is it?"

"Well, you remember that day, right back then in Madam Malkins'?"

"Of course I remember it. You were expressing your love of your wealth and how you were going to be in Slytherin, like all Malfoys were."

"Well, I was like that because I had been raised to greet myself that way, as Lucius said the most important thing about me was my last name. I also was trying to impress you because... Well, I kind of had a bit of an immediate crush on you," he said, looking down at his hands, blushing slightly.

"Wow, I really have been irresistible since the age of eleven. It's lovely to know," Harry chuckled. Draco laughed and continued.

"Anyway, so I did try to impress you, I will admit... Though that failed epically. I also failed epically trying to make you my friend, but I did understand why you rejected my friendship. I tried to just shrug it off and forget about it, but I couldn't but like you. I guess it was young love and all that, right? So I decided, because I am a Malfoy and you rejected my friendship, no one would notice if I acted like I hated you. So that's what I did. That way, I believed that while I was preventing suspicions going on at home, I could try and forget any feelings that I had for you."

"If anyone had told me this just at the beginning of the year, I would have believed that they were completely mad," said Harry, chuckling again. Draco smiled.

"Yes, of course. But it didn't work, naturally. So, that's why when I overheard Lucius talking to my mother about how he was going to help Voldemort return through that diary back in second year, I knew I had to do something, _anything. _I couldn't bear the thought of you getting hurt, so with no one else to turn to for help, I talked to Dobby. He was always a good friend of mine, and was a good companion for me the days I felt lonely. He already knew about you; I will admit that I used to talk about you to him. I told him that he should warn you not to go back to school that year. The thought of you not being there devastated me, but the thought of you getting hurt or possibly even dying got to me more."

"That's... Well, I never would have thought that's how Dobby knew about me."

"I don't blame you. I got furious with him though, when he confessed to me that he was the one who had jinxed that bludger in that Quidditch match. I remember him saying to me _'Dobby is most aggrieved, sir. Dobby had to iron his hands'. _I couldn't stay mad at the poor elf, bless him. So a couple of hours later, after I was released from the hospital wing myself, I walked there with him, and whispered to him that if he apologised to you and warned you again I would forgive him."

"He said the same thing to me," said Harry. "He felt ever so guilty."

"He has always felt guilty whenever I have gotten mad at him. Anyway, in the next couple of years, I still felt an attraction towards you. In all honesty, it scared me. If Lucius had ever known that I was actually... Gay, well, I don't even want to think about that. Anyway, when we were in fifth year, I started forgetting about my feelings. I guess it was mainly because of fear – Lucius had hit me for defending you, never mind how bad he would have been if he discovered I had a crush on you. By sixth year, I had completely ignored any attraction, because of... Well, you know."

"Draco, why are you telling me this? Please don't take this the wrong way, but I just thought that you wanted to talk to me about your dad."

"Well, that... That wasn't the only thing I wanted to talk about," Draco said, a slight blush returning to his cheeks.

"Oh, I see."

"Well... I..."

"Yes?"

"I... Oh, for the sake of Salazar. IreallylikeyouandIjustwantedtotellyoubecauseIwasgoingtotellyouyesterdaybutdidn'tgetthechance," Draco blurted, his blush deepening. "There, I said it."

"Um... Said what? Sorry, I didn't get a word of that."

Draco groaned and put his head in his hands.

"I really like you and I just wanted to tell you because I was going to tell you yesterday but didn't get the chance. There you go."

He didn't raise his head from his hands even when Harry spoke again.

"Draco, look at me."

"I understand if you hate me now as I don't even know if you _are _bisexual and I'm really sorry if I've made you uncomfortable and-"

He stopped when he felt Harry's hands cup his cheeks. He stayed silent when Harry lifted his head away from his arms, and his eyes widened when Harry placed his lips on Draco's. After a couple of seconds of him being frozen in shock, he closed his eyes and melted into the kiss. His heart filled up with an emotion and warmth that he had never felt before... Could it be _love?_

"_AH! _I _knew _that he liked you back! I _told _you!"

They immediately broke apart at the sound of Pansy squealing. They looked over at her, Blaise, Ron, Hermione and Madam Pomfrey standing in the doorway, staring at them. Pansy looked extremely excited, Blaise seemed like he wasn't entirely surprised, just like Hermione, though Ron seemed like he was not too sure what to make of the situation.

"So that's why you wanted us to get out of here last night," Blaise said to Pansy, grinning.

"Indeed it is. Oh Dray, I'm so proud of you!" Pansy cried, and ran over to him to hug him – softly, of course. He laughed and hugged her back with one arm, his other hand in Harry's.

"So," said Ron, looking down at their intertwined hands. "Are you both, um, together now, then...?"

"Well, if that's alright with you, Draco..." said Harry, smiling at him. "...Then yes."

Draco beamed at him and nodded happily, returning the smile.

"Oh my gosh, that is _so _fucking adorable! You've liked him for so long, and now you are _together!_"

"Miss Parkinson, please stop squealing in that horrid voice about who are now 'together'," Snape said, walking into the room with Lupin and McGonagall.

"We can't stay for very long because we only have five minutes until..." Lupin started, but stopped when he got closer to the bed. He looked at the pair holding hands, and how Draco was resting his head on Harry's shoulder. He grinned and raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something that you haven't told us yet, boys?" he asked with a wink.

"This only just happened, Remus," said Harry, laughing when he saw that Draco was blushing. "You haven't missed anything."

"Oh Salazar, _that's _who are now together..." Snape sighed. "I should have seen that one coming."

"You really should have," Lupin smirked.

"Well, I wish you all the best," McGonagall chuckled. "We better get to first lesson – we're going to be late."

"I guess that you could be a good influence on him, Draco," said Snape as he turned around to leave the room.

"Well, it would be a bit hypocritical _not _to accept them, don't you think, Severus?" Lupin smirked as he followed the other professors out of the room.

"Oh, shut up."

The students stared at them walking away, before looking back at each other.

"You don't think that they...?" Hermione started, but shook her head. "Alright, I just want to say that I am, obviously, completely fine with the two of you being together. I mean, you both have been very close, and we know Draco isn't like we thought he was all along. You two are very good for each other. Oh, and don't think that you both got out of doing work. Here is all of it for first and second lesson. Enjoy."

"I am fine with it, too. As long as you're both happy, I'm fine," Ron added, grabbing onto his girlfriend's hand as they made it out of the infirmary. Pansy simply squealed in joy and hugged them both.

"I am so _not _fine with it."

He laughed as he saw the expressions on the three of their faces, and shielded himself with his hands from an incoming Pansy trying to hit him.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I obviously don't mind, at all. I kind of guessed when Pansy seemed happy about leaving you both here last night."

They their goodbyes and walked out of the room hand in hand. Draco sighed in relief and rested his head back on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"I am so glad that they are happy with it," he said.

"I knew they would be," Harry replied, smiling.

"I hate to break this up, but I need you to take some potions and I need to apply some to that burn."

"Wait, burn?" said Harry, looking up at Pomfrey. "What burn?"

"Well, Lucius burnt my back with Incendio..." Draco mumbled.

"He _did?" _said Harry, looking furious. "I swear, I am going to-"

"It's alright, Harry. I'm fine," Draco smiled, squeezing his hand. He took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Okay, you will have to keep still while I apply this. The quicker it's done, the better. Could you lift up your shirt for me, please?"

Draco did as he was told and lifted up his shirt. Harry winced at the sight of his boyfriend's back. The bruises and cuts were healing very quickly and had faded dramatically, and even though it was clear that the burn had healed a little, it was a lot more visible than the other injuries. It was also quite large; it spread from his shoulder blades down to his lower back.

"Brace yourself; this will sting as it is fairly strong," Pomfrey warned him before she poured a little of the potion onto the burn. Draco hissed in pain, but he stayed still while she rubbed it into the skin. Only a few seconds later, the stinging had already reduced to merely a slight tingling sensation.

"There we are, all done. That should be healed within the next few days. Drink this as well; it will help it to heal faster," she said as she handed him a potion. He downed it in one gulp, shuddering at the vile taste.

"Thank you. Is there any chance we could maybe have some breakfast and something to drink? I actually haven't had anything since the other night..."

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! With of the healing I've been doing, I never stopped to think about that!" she gasped, but Draco just chuckled.

"Well, he didn't exactly greet me with 'Good morning, Draco! Would you perhaps like a cup of tea and maybe a croissant to go with your kidnapping, or are you fine?"

Pomfrey smiled in amusement and hurried off to get him and Harry some breakfast.

"God, Draco, you must be parched by now!" Harry exclaimed.

"I am, now that it's been mentioned. Potions just don't really do anything for you."

Pomfrey returned to the room a few minutes later, carrying a tray of food and drinks.

"Here you are, boys. I wasn't too sure on what you wanted, so I just got a range of things for you."

"Thank you very much, madam," said Harry.

"Yes, thank you. It looks great," Draco added.

"It's no problem at all. I am going to head back to my office, so call me if you need anything," she said. They both nodded at her, and once she had left, Draco happily picked up a glass of orange juice, and took a deep gulp of the refreshing drink. They tucked into the food, with Draco naturally eating more. After they had finished, Harry sighed and picked up his Transfiguration book that Hermione had gave to him.

"We better get started with this, now. But hey, we're looking further into Animagi! I don't know if we'd be able to have our own forms, but hopefully there's a chance we could."

"Yes, maybe," said Draco, smiling to himself. He decided to keep his own Animagus form as a secret for the time being. He wanted to tell everyone in a much more surprising and perhaps grand way. This _is _Draco Malfoy, after all. But, once he thought about it, he realised that the name no longer meant anything to him.

* * *

Aw, a bit of a nicer chapter, for once, with no cliffhanger. How lovely of me.

Please review telling me your thoughts, especially if you haven't already! I haven't been getting that many for the last couple of chapters and I really would appreciate it as it shows me that you appreciate my efforts to keep updating and such.

Thanks for reading!


	12. Confidence

**A/N: **I am so, so sorry for how long it took for this to be updated. I've just been so stressed with my health getting worse and how I've literally missed out on over a month of college and yet still be expected to go.

I felt mean that I updated my other fanfic two days ago and then not this one, so in the last few hours I got on with it and wrote over 3,000 words. So here it is! Another nice, positive chapter.

Enjoy ~

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Twelve – Confidence

* * *

For the rest of the day, Draco and Harry both stayed in the infirmary and completed the work that was given to them by Hermione and when she, the rest of their friends, Lupin and Snape stayed for a little while, chatted with them. Despite them both simply doing the work that they would have done in their lessons, the day still went by fairly fast as they were both very content in each other's company. The two of them sighed in relief when they had both completed the last task set for them. Draco leaned back against his pillow on his bed once he had placed his book down, and closed his eyes. He opened them when Harry held onto his hand, and smiled.

"This is so different, isn't it?" Harry said, rubbing his thumb over Draco's hand.

"Very different," Draco chuckled, nodded. "If someone had told me that this would have happened and we would be together, I would have thought that they were completely utterly mental. As well as silently question if they suspected I like you."

"It's different in a very nice way though. I'm glad you confessed to me," said Harry, smiling. He raised Draco's hand to his lips and planted a kiss gently on the skin.

"I must say, I do actually prefer to see you both like this rather than the two of you always arguing," Pomfrey said all of a sudden, making them both jump. She was holding a tray of food and two drinks, and placed it down onto the bed, grinning. Harry and Draco grinned back. "Here you are, then. I got a house elf to bring up some food they were serving for dinner tonight."

The two of them nodded at her, and she returned to her office. They both tucked into the food straight away, savouring the tastes of their favourite foods. Pomfrey couldn't help but laugh when she returned ten minutes later to find that the tray was completely empty and that Harry and Draco were smiling at her innocently.

"Well then, I suppose that you were both fairly hungry," she chuckled as she put the tray to one side. She turned back to Draco, smiling. "I think that you will be glad to know, Draco, that as long as you are careful with your back, you should be able to leave here tomorrow morning. I know it's been a struggle for you to walk, but now that your injuries have been healing well, and some have already healed, you will be alright. Plus, your energy levels are also back up now you've eaten. You are a very lucky man indeed, Mister Malfoy."

"Really, I can go?" he said hopefully, smiling when he earned a nod in response.

"Yes, but like I said, you need to be careful about your back, as that is healing much slower than the rest. Just make sure that you keep applying that potion I have been using. Speaking of which," she said as she handed him the usual bottle. "You can apply it yourself now that your injuries are almost fully healed, and the ribs which had been cracked have healed completely."

"Wait, cracked ribs?" Harry sighed. "I didn't know about that."

"It's alright; I'm fine," said Draco, smiling. "Would you mind lifting my shirt for me so that I can apply the potion?"

Harry nodded and did so. Draco poured a little of the potion onto the palm of his hand and rubbed it into the burn. Harry was surprised that he didn't even wince at the stinging anymore.

"There we are. Now, as soon as they come we can-"

"Are we able to come in? Are they still eating?"

Pomfrey turned to see Hermione poking her head around the door, accompanied by the usual visitors.

"Well, they're not eating, but they seem to be up to something else," Pansy smirked. Harry merely laughed while Draco jumped away from him, blushing heavily.

"H-He was just holding my shirt up for me so I could apply the potion!" Draco cried. Harry grinned slyly at his friends.

"Come on, Pansy, we would at least save that for when nobody was here."

"Ha-Harry!" Draco exclaimed, making him laugh again.

The group finally entered the room, and took around his bed, with the three usual professors standing behind them. A few minutes later, Lupin frowned and looked at the time. His eyes widened, and he turned to Snape quickly.

"Um... Severus? You did bring a vial of Wolfsbane with you, didn't you?"

* * *

Saying that the rest of that night up until curfew was entertaining would have been an absolute understatement. The six friends were chatting by Draco's bed, Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey were chatting among themselves, and as Professor Snape did indeed bring a vial of Wolfsbane along with him, he had Moony continuously trying to jump up at him while attempting to lick his face. The rest laughed at the two professors while Snape tried to keep the cold glare fixed on his face, but Moony wasn't having any of this. He continued his cheeky wolf attitude until a small grin finally grew on Snape's face and he even let out a little chuckle. Satisfied, the brown wolf unexpectedly managed to knock Snape down into a chair and jumped up onto his lap.

"I think he has grown to like you, Severus," Draco chuckled as he watched the pair. Moony let out a little bark and licked Snape's face once more.

"I think that is a yes," Blaise grinned.

"I don't think I would ever see the two of you get along so much," Harry commented.

"Oh my, it is already five minutes until curfew! We all better get going," said McGonagall as she got herself up from her seat.

"Yes, we better have. Moony, get off me, you silly mutt," said Snape to the wolf lying on his lap. Moony whined slightly, but did as he was told and jumped down onto the floor. Snape groaned while he tried his best to shake off all of the brown strands of fur that had gotten stuck to his robes.

"Alright, we will see you tomorrow," Hermione smiled, giving both of them a quick hug. Pansy did the same, but she paused slightly while she was holding onto Draco.

"I am so proud of you for telling him, Draco. He's an amazing person for you to be with," she whispered in his ear. She let go of Draco, got up off the bed and took Blaise's hand, who nodded at both of them before they left the infirmary.

"See you tomorrow," Ron said, and he and Hermione left the room, also hand in hand. They were followed by the three professors, one of whom licked both of their faces first. Naturally, and also thankfully, it was Moony.

"Alright, do any of you two need anything?" Pomfrey questioned when they had all left.

"I'm fine, Madam. I'm just a bit tired," Draco answered, stifling a yawn.

"I am too," Harry added.

"Okay, that is good. I am going to go back to my office then, so call me if you need me."

They both nodded at her, and she then left. Draco yawned loudly before he laid back into his bed. Harry grinned at him.

"Is there room for one more in there, Draco?" he asked, his grin widening. Draco blinked, but then he smiled and moved up slightly so that his boyfriend could get under the covers with him.

"Watch my back, otherwise I'll kill you while you sleep," Draco mumbled. He cuddled up to the Gryffindor next to him, wrapping his arms around him. He rubbed his head into Harry's chest while Harry rested his arm around Draco's waist, with his other hand gently stroking strands of blonde hair off Draco's forehead. He managed to fall asleep in mere minutes thanks to the warmth and comfort of Harry. The said boy watched his boyfriend for a few moments before trying to sleep himself. He looked so peaceful and innocent while he was sleeping. His hair shone an almost silvery colour in the faint moonlight and the highlighted pale skin reminded Harry that of an angel. _That sounds like something Pansy would say... _Harry thought to himself, grinning. But still, Draco did indeed look very beautiful, and the amount of beauty that Harry saw in Draco was almost too much to take. After he observed the delicate features of Draco for a minute longer, he eventually took off his glasses, put them on the bedside table, and snuggled into his sleeping boyfriend. For once, he managed to fall asleep quickly, and it was a lovely slumber at that.

* * *

"Boys, it is almost time for breakfast, wake up," Pomfrey called that next morning as she tried to wake up the two boys sleeping next to each other with a shake. They did not wake up; instead, they simply cuddled closer in their sleep. Pomfrey sighed and realised that the sweet method of waking them was definitely not going to work. "Wake up, you have to get ready!"

They sat up straight away after she shouted, both with very startled expressions on their faces.

"Dear Merlin, you didn't have to yell!" Draco groaned. Harry nodded in agreement, yawning.

"Come on, both of you, get up! You can walk now, Draco, don't even try to pull that one on me. I have your clothes _right _here, come on!"

"I need a shower!" Draco exclaimed.

"_Just use a spell! _Dear goodness. Hurry up, breakfast is going to be ready in a few minutes!"

They did as they were instructed to do and got out of bed. Neither of them had ever heard her shout that loud, and both would rather it not to continue. Draco hurriedly applied the potion to his burn and threw his clothes on, and managed to be dressed at the same time as Harry.

"Alright, go on then. You still have a couple of minutes," she said. They nodded and left quickly.

"Wow, I don't think I will ever take walking for granted again!" Draco said slightly breathlessly.

"I can imagine. Well, if you can even call _this w_alking!" Harry replied, breathing in deeply. Draco chuckled and reached out to take his hand, making Harry smile. When they made it to the corridor by the Great Hall, they looked at each other and their joint hands.

"Should we... Let go?" Draco asked hesitantly.

"It's perfectly up to you," Harry shrugged.

Draco took one last glance at their hands before he grinned.

"We both get enough attention as it is, I guess... Better sooner rather than later."

Harry grinned back at him nodded. They both walked into the Great Hall, and not everyone looked at them as the doors were already open. However, those who did stared at them with wide eyes, and a few whispers started going around the Hall as they continued to stare down at their connected hands, apparently unsure of the situation. As they walked down by the Gryffindor table to their usual seats, more whispers surrounded them and the Gryffindors had various different expressions on their faces. Only a couple looked disgusted; some looked shocked, a lot looked confused, and there was a few who even looked excited, which did appear to be mainly female. They sat in the two seats beside Pansy and Blaise, who both nodded at them, grinning. Professor McGonagall gave them a smile, proud of their bravery, before she cleared her throat.

"Good morning, everyone. As you can see, Draco Malfoy has now recovered from his ordeal and will be once again in the seventh year classes."

"What on Earth has happened? One minute you inform us that he has been taken by Lucius, the next we are told that he has been rescued and is being healed in the infirmary, and now he walks in casually holding hands with _Harry Potter!" _a sixth year called out from the Ravenclaw table. McGonagall was about to reply, but not before Draco sighed and rose up from his seat.

"Okay, everyone. I think it would be best if I explained this to all of you. Some know more than others, but it's clear that a lot of you don't understand this properly. May I, professor?"

McGonagall nodded. He smiled and strode off to the front of the Hall, so that all of the students could see him properly. Harry stared at him as he walked away, shocked, but also happy, at his boyfriend's sudden burst of confidence.

"Alright then. All of you naturally know that Lucius Malfoy is more of a git than you ever expected and has abused me for all of my life, for a reason none of us understand, and it was a shock to you. Well, you also naturally know that I was kidnapped by him the other day. If you had not been told by Professor McGonagall, then you would have read it in the Daily Prophet, most likely. But does anyone understand _why?" _he asked, and a lot of the students shook their heads. "It was because he was furious that I had gone against what he had told me all of these years, and that's to never tell a living soul. Obviously, I had no choice after that lesson, but never mind. So, as a punishment, I was locked up in the Malfoy Dungeons for almost twenty four hours, which has probably left some more permanent damage."

He lifted up a hand, which shook every few moments like it had done for years – only the shakes were slightly more frequent.

"My body was incredibly damaged and if I hadn't been saved within that hour, it's no doubt that I would have died. So, that sums that part of this up."

The Hall was silent for a few moments before a Slytherin spoke up.

"What about you and Potter?"

"Well, I don't think there is any need to make this very long. I have liked him for a while. Years, even. I couldn't forget about my feelings any longer and I told him. Extremely nervously, I should add. But then he kissed me and just like that, we are together."

"But haven't you both hated each other all of these years? And how come you have changed so much these last couple of months?" a girl from the Gryffindor table asked.

"People aren't always what they seem. I believed that if I acted like how I really felt, people would think that I am vulnerable and that I was hiding something. So I just acted like a younger version of my father. I also thought that being Harry's enemy would be better than nothing, and no one would suspect a thing – which they didn't. But after the summer, I just couldn't take any of it anymore. I stopped pretending to be someone I wasn't, and clearly, Harry got along with that side much better, as have Ron and Hermione. I removed that mask, and I'm glad I did. There's also one thing that I can promise you; Lucius is never going to hurt me again. Not without a fight, anyway."

He saw that he had covered everything, nodded, and sat back down in his seat, where his friends all smiled at him happily.

"Well, there we have it. Hurry and finish your breakfast; lessons will be starting soon," McGonagall said, before she smiled at Draco and took her own seat.

"That was great, Draco," Harry said softly, planting a kiss on his lips. "I'm so proud of you."

* * *

It was after their second lesson, at lunch, when Draco's mother had approached him, wanting to talk. Draco, of course, didn't mind eating late if his mother wanted to speak to him. He squeezed Harry's hand and said goodbye to the others before he followed his mother down the corridors. They stopped at an empty classroom, where they both took a seat next to each other.

"So what did you wish to talk about, mother?"

"I haven't had the chance to speak to you properly since what happened, as I was at the Ministry being questioned. But I have the time now to see you. Draco... I'm just so sorry."

"There is no need to apologise, mother, I'm fine."

"You might be fine now – I can see that you are feeling much happier and more confident than you have ever been," Narcissa smiled, though it soon faded. "But I haven't been with you enough over these years. It was never right of me. _I _should have been the one protecting you, not the other way around. It should have never been like that."

"It isn't your fault," Draco murmured. "I never even allowed you to step in between Lucius and I. I always stopped you, because I never wanted you to get hurt. You don't deserve that."

"But neither did you," she sighed, pulling Draco into a hug. "I should have not let you stop me. I should have overcome my fear of Lucius a long time ago and stop him from hurting you... But I didn't until now. I am sorry."

"Don't apologise," Draco whispered, wrapping his arms around her. "You never wanted it to happen, and I know that. I know that I have scars and damage from what he has done to me, but that is only proof that it's in the past. I know how much you care for me and I don't blame you at all. I can move on from this now, and I know that you can to. But that will only happen if you stop blaming yourself about what happened to me and learn to forgive yourself."

Narcissa nodded, and she wiped away a few tears while she pulled away from Draco.

"I'm so proud of you, my little Dragon," she smiled softly, brushing a few blonde strands away from Draco's face. She then chuckled, tilting her head slightly. "I always knew that you were gay."

"W-What?" Draco stammered. He hadn't been expecting that.

"Oh come on, like I haven't already heard the news."

"And... You don't mind?"

She quickly shook her head.

"Why would I? I was never like Lucius – I care more about you rather than our family name. I just want you to be happy. You can't change who you are and if there is one person I would like you to be with the most, it is probably Harry anyway. He is good for you."

"Well... Thank you," Draco smiled.

"If you ever get married-"

"M-_Married? _You're reminding me of Pansy now!"

"If you ever get married please make sure to take _his _name. I think I would rather you be a Potter than a Malfoy."

Draco paused for a moment, before grinning.

"Alright, then."

* * *

The last lesson that Draco had that day was Transfiguration, which he shared with Harry and the rest. Both his confession to the students in the Great Hall that morning and the conversation with his mother raised his spirits a lot, and now he was in class learning about a subject which he thoroughly enjoyed, making his mood not falter a single bit.

"You should all remember what we did last lesson, including you, Mister Potter and Mister Malfoy, for you did this work too. Anyone care to refresh our memories?"

Several hands rose into the air.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"We were looking into the basics of Animagus forms, professor, and how one can learn this ability."

"Yes, that is correct, five points to Gryffindor. Can anyone tell me, can one choose their Animagus form? Yes, Mister Malfoy?"

"Even though events and even people in someone's life can affect what their form is, it's normally based around the traits and spirit of a person. This is why it is often the same as your Patronus."

"Great, five points to Slytherin. What is the difference between Transfiguration and the Animagus ability? Yes, Mister Potter?"

"Being an Animagus is an ability, which does not require a spell, unlike Transfiguration."

"Good, five points to Gryffindor. And last question, one which is slightly more difficult – how can a person in their Animagus form communicate with real animals, and even werewolves?"

A couple of hands lowered, though she nodded at Draco once more to answer.

"No one is certain about how exactly Animagi can communicate with actual animals, though there has been a few theories, the main being telepathy. They suspect this because naturally, they cannot talk, though it is clear that they can still somehow understand one and other. And also, the reason Animagi _can _communicate with werewolves is because then they are transformed, well, if they haven't taken Wolfsbane, they will only attack humans, not other animals."

"Excellent, ten points to Slytherin! Alright, I want you to all watch my transformation as a cat, and compare my behaviour to a regular cat," she said, before she transformed. She made her way around the students' desks, though she stopped when she was by Harry and Draco's. She could sense some kind of magic coming from Draco, the kind that only those with the Animagus ability held. She moved on to avoid superstion, and jumped onto the odd students' desk while she was at it.

She called for Draco to come to her desk once the students began to leave. Draco nodded and gestured for Harry and his friends to go on without him before walking up to her.

"What is the matter, professor?" he asked.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice something while I was in my Animagus form..." she started, and chuckled when she heard Draco's sharp intake of breath. "I was wondering why you seemed to understand the ability so much."

"I'm sorry miss, I know that I have to be registered and all..."

"Yes, we better get that done as soon as possible, preferably today. I could sense that the magic is fairly new to you, so it's alright, especially after with what has happened recently. We can leave it until after dinner."

"Thank you, professor, that is fine with me. Is that all that you wanted to speak to me about?"

"Yes, that is all. Well, I am also curious. What exactly is your Animagus form?"

"A white fox, professor."

"Oh, how beautiful," she smiled. "Is it possible if I could maybe... See? It has been a while since I've taught a student with the ability before."

He nodded and immediately transformed into his gorgeous form for her. He looked up at her with his large grey eyes and flicked out his black-tipped tail.

"Wow, aren't you lovely?" she murmured, unable to resist giving the white fur a small stroke. He transformed back, grinning at her. "Anyway, you better get going. We will go to the Ministry together as soon as we have both eaten our dinner to get you registered."

"Thank you, professor."

* * *

**A/N: **Wow, two chapters without a cliffhanger? Go me!

Seriously though, thank you all for your reviews and for being patient with me. You're not too mad, right?

Thank you for reading!


	13. Puri

**A/N: **This chapter is very similar to the original - there wasn't really anything I had to change so it's mainly just edited speech and such.

Hope you enjoy it anyway!

* * *

Concealed Torture

Chapter Thirteen – Puri

* * *

Soon enough, it was time for dinner, and Draco was shovelling his food down almost at the same pace that Ron was. Not quite, of course, considering that was a very hard task indeed.

"Draco, why are you eating so quickly?" Harry asked as he reached over to get himself a serving of roast chicken. "You must be starving!"

"Well, I kind of have to hurry as I'm supposed to be going somewhere with Professor McGonagall as soon as possible," Draco replied before he shoved another forkful of carrots into his mouth.

"Oh, where are you both going?" Pansy questioned, curiously.

"Just to the Ministry."

"Wait, why are you going there?"

"And what did she want to speak to you about after class?" Harry added.

"Um, well, the thing is..."

"Mister Malfoy, if you've finished your dinner, we better get going," Professor McGonagall called, interrupting him.

"Oh, I have to go, then," Draco said, getting himself up from the table, but Harry grabbed onto his hand.

"It's not anything serious, is it?" he asked, concern written on his face. Draco laughed and shook his head.

"No, of course not," he answered.

"Will you tell us later?"

"I'll think about it," Draco laughed again when Harry hit him on his arm playfully.

"You better," he said, before pulling Draco down into a kiss. "See you later."

"See you," Draco replied, nodding at his friends before he followed Professor McGonagall out of the Great Hall and into the corridor.

"Alright, let's go to my office. We can floo to the Ministry from there," she said, and they began to make their way through the deserted castle. Due to both of them having quite long legs and the fact that the corridors were completely empty, they arrived at her office fairly quickly. The gargoyles moved out of their path once McGonagall said the password in her proud voice, and they made their way up the spiralling staircase. Once they entered her office, they stood by her fireplace.

"It is big enough for us to both transport there at the same time," she said. Draco nodded in understanding and held onto her arm lightly as she reached out to grab a pinch of her floo powder. Before he could even blink, they had already floo'd themselves to the Ministry and were stepping out one of the fireplaces there. There were hardly any visitors – most witches and wizards preferred to safely stay in their homes at night. Kingsley Shacklebolt was standing by the fountain and was chatting to a fellow Auror when he looked over and noticed the pair walking towards him. He smiled at them, excused himself from his conversation, and walked over to them.

"Good evening, Minerva and Draco. I'll take you to the Improper Use of Magic office now so that you can register," he said, and gestured for them both to follow him. After a few minutes of walking, they were stood outside of an office. Draco gulped – slightly worried that he was going to be speaking to someone very strict. He imagined a very stern looking woman with greying hair, peeking over a pair of glasses with judging eyes. Kingsley, however, looked at him and smiled reassuringly.

"There's no need to worry about it, Draco," he said. "She is only going to ask you a couple of questions; you're not going to get into any trouble. She's a very nice young lady and is very relaxed about her job. You also have Minerva with you anyway, and she registered just fine herself. I would go in with you but I'm afraid I have a lot of things to do right now. Good luck to you."

He excused himself and left with a wave. McGonagall knocked on the door, and almost immediately a young woman with long red hair answered. She was wearing a beautiful green dress which matched the intensity of her eyes, which lit up when she saw McGonagall standing there.

"Minerva, it's so good to see you!" the girl beamed as she gave her friend a hug.

"It's a pleasure to see you too, Jasmine," McGonagall replied as she returned the hug. "Is your mother well?"

"Oh, of course. She's certainly enjoying her retirement!" she chuckled before waving a hand for them to both come inside. "Come on in, both of you!"

Draco stared in awe at the beauty of the room once he stepped inside. It was decorated with elegant furniture, with snakes looping around the handles of the cabinets. He realised that seemed like it would belong to a Slytherin, with the high amounts of green and silver. Jasmine couldn't help but chuckle at the look of amazement on Draco's face.

"Lovely, isn't it? It sure took me a while to get it this nice! I thought you would like it, being a Slytherin too and all."

"You were also a Slytherin?" Draco asked, looking at her.

"Indeed I was! My mother was a Ravenclaw, so I had to make a few changes," she said as she sat down at her desk. Draco and McGonagall both sat on two chairs in front of it.

"So this is where your mum used to work?"

"Oh, yes she did. I'm sorry, I better introduce myself properly! My name is Jasmine Bell, but you can just call me Jasmine. I've been working here for a few years now, after my mother decided to retire early. She was an Auror before she worked in this office, you see, and after being a part of quite a few tough cases it wasn't long before she got too tired of working and decided to just call it a day. She was actually the woman who registered Minerva here," she explained. McGonagall smiled and nodded.

"Do you have an Animagus form yourself, Jasmine?" Draco asked.

"Yes, it's of a royal python," she said with a smile before clapping her hands together. "Right, to the business here! Now, I just need to ask you a couple of questions, okay?"

Draco nodded. She smiled again and grabbed a piece of paper with some writing on, which Draco wasn't quite able to read.

"Alright, first question, then. Give me a second while I write down your name... Lucius is your middle name, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Draco said with only a slight hint of distaste.

"I thought so. Alright, what is your Animagus form? Naturally, that _would _be the first question," she said with a wink.

"A white fox," he replied with a small grin. She whistled as she wrote it down.

"Ooh, how lovely. I must say that I adore foxes, almost as much as snakes! Anyway, next question. What is your date of birth?"

"5th June, 1980."

"Right, okay. How long have you been able to transform into your Animagus form, Draco?"

"Um... I would say it was only about a week ago. I'm not too sure with everything that has been going on..."

"It's completely understandable, don't worry. We will just write down a week, then. Would you like to have a certain name for your Animagus form, Draco?"

He thought for a few moments, and then smiled.

"I think it shall be... Puri," he answered. She nodded and wrote it down.

"That is all I needed to ask you! Except there is one more thing – I do require a parent's signature as you are still in school, but your mother is currently with the Aurors and it would be best if I didn't wait any longer to get you registered."

"Would Severus be able to sign it instead of her, if she can't sign it herself?" Draco asked. "He might not be a blood relative but he _is _my godfather."

"Well, because of these... Certain circumstances, I suppose that it will be allowed, especially as your father can obviously not sign it."

"I would be happy to go and bring him back here, Jasmine," McGonagall smiled.

"Thank you. Feel free to use my fireplace. I will allow it to let you and Severus through so you don't have to walk back through the Ministry to here," she said. McGonagall nodded and floo'd back to her office. Jasmine turned to Draco and smiled at him.

"So, Draco, what exactly made you want to be an Animagus?" she asked.

"Well, I've always had a love for animals, really. But for some reason, I felt like the ability was just _right _for me."

"Right for you?"

"I know it sounds weird, but it's almost like it was pulling me, like I was destined to have this ability. I learnt it quite quickly too, but I don't understand why."

"Perhaps I understand why," she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "You also have much more power than you realise, Draco. I can sense it."

Draco looked at her with widened eyes and a questioning look.

"What do you mean?" he asked, but before she could even think of an answer, McGonagall and Snape stepped out of the fireplace.

"Draco, what is this about you having the Animagus ability?" he asked.

"Exactly that, Severus. Mother is with the Aurors and can't sign this herself so you have to so I can be registered," Draco explained, gesturing towards the piece of paper on Jasmine's desk.

"I did mention this, Severus," McGonagall said, shaking her head.

"To be quite honest, I barely heard a word of what you said being as I had a wolf rubbing against my legs who was also trying to lick my face."

McGonagall chuckled, and both Jasmine and Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"Anyway, could you sign it for me, Sev? I want to get back soon."

"What have I told you about calling me that? But yes, I will," Snape nodded, and paused when he read it.

"A white fox, Draco?" he asked. Draco nodded, smiling. Snape picked up the quill and signed his name on the bottom of the paper.

"Excellent. You just have to sign it now, Draco, under his."

Once Draco had signed his name, Jasmine grinned and picked up the piece of paper to put it in a cabinet.

"Alright, there you are! All done! You can all go back now, if you like."

They nodded and bid their farewells. Draco was the last to leave, and was stopped before he managed to floo himself back to Hogwarts.

"Don't forget what I said to you before, Draco. I can imagine you will discover it soon, and very soon at that."

Confused, Draco merely nodded before he vanished in a green flame.

* * *

"Why did you have to go to the Ministry with McGonagall then, Draco?"

Draco found himself in Pansy's room that evening, before either of them decided to go to bed. Blaise was going to join them, but Pansy saw how tired he was and ordered for him to go to sleep instead.

"It's nothing to worry about, Pans. I will be telling all of you, I promise, but I'd rather say it when you're all together," he replied.

"Alright, as long as you tell us, I don't mind."

Draco nodded before he sighed and leant back into the armchair he was sitting on, going back over Jasmine's words.

'_You also have much more power than you realise, Draco.' _

'_I can imagine you will discover it soon, and very soon at that.'_

What did she mean by this, and how would she even be able to understand something like this? Draco was almost completely certain that she meant nothing bad by what she said, and she definitely wasn't evil herself. She clearly didn't have a Dark Mark – she was wearing a sleeveless dress, after all. If this was the case, why was he getting so worked up about it? Was it because he didn't understand what this power was or when he would discover it? Could it even be because he had never saw himself as powerful and the thought of being so was completely new to him?

"Draco, are you listening?"

He was startled out of his thoughts when Pansy decided to shake him slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Pansy. I was in a world of my own then. What did you say?" he asked.

"I can tell! I only asked if what McGonagall wanted to talk to you about after Transfiguration had something to do with why you went to the Ministry."

_She sure catches on fast, _he thought to himself.

"Well... Yes. Don't worry, I will be telling you about it tomorrow."

"Good," she smiled, and then yawned loudly, making Draco chuckle.

"I think you should be getting yourself in bed, Pansy. You look shattered," he said. She nodded and yawned again. He got up and made his way to the door – which had naturally been repaired after Pansy destroyed it the other night.

"Night, Draco," she said.

"Goodnight, Pansy. Sleep well," he replied, and closed the door softly after him. He crossed the corridor to his own room and opened the door. He breathed in deeply when he looked into it, remembering what had happened the last time he was there.

_You can't proceed into the future without leaving the past._

Sometimes, it was that one thought that had kept him going.

He changed into his nightwear and climbed into bed. He didn't have much luck at all finding sleep though, and was tossing and turning for a couple of hours before he sighed and sat up. After a few moments of thinking to himself, he slid out of his bed and closed his eyes. Just mere seconds later, he was walking across the floor on four paws instead of two feet. He opened his door further with a nudge of his white muzzled and quietly padded down the hall and up the stairs. His large ears listened for any sound of his classmates, but he didn't pick up anything. He walked across the common room and out into the empty corridor. He turned to climb the stairs leading out of the Slytherin Dungeons, but his movements stopped when he could hear voices coming from Professor Snape's room. Curious, Puri silently walked over to the door and pressed one of his ears against it.

"Honestly Moony, I am trying to sleep here but it is impossible when you continue to lick my face. You're a wolf, not some mindless dog, for Salazar's sake," he heard Severus groan. Puri smiled widely – as wide as his fox form allowed, anyway. He hadn't realised that Moony slept in Severus' room. Suddenly feeling a little sociable, and possibly quite daring, he scratched at the door softly, just loud enough for the brown wolf inside to hear.

"What's wrong, Moony? Where are you going?"

Puri heard Moony growl slightly and scratch at the door from the other side.

"At this time of night? Fine, I guess I'll leave it open for when you come back... But _please_ don't wake me."

Puri backed into the shadows of the corridor when Snape opened the door to let Moony out. The tired professor left it open slightly so Moony could get back inside, and walked back over to his bed. Moony sniffed and walked over to the shadows to find Puri sitting there. The fox jumped up onto his feet and stood by Moony.

'_Good evening, Moony. It's a lovely night, isn't it?'_

Moony tilted his head at Moony and placed a paw on his head.

'_Severus told me about you having the Animagus ability, Draco. What are you doing here at this time?'_

'_I couldn't fall asleep, so I went for a walk and overheard Sev talking to you. Call me Puri while I'm in this form, by the way.'_

'_Puri it is, then. I should really not be allowing you to be out at this time.'_

'_Well, you're not really a professor when you're a wolf...'_

'_I suppose you do have a point. Shall we go for a walk together, then? I'm not really feeling so tired myself.'_

Puri nodded his white head and the two animals climbed the stairs together, both of them keeping watch for anyone in the corridors.

'_Come this way. It is a quick way outside, and the scenery there is absolutely beautiful at this time,' _said Moony.

'_Alright, let's go,' _Puri replied. They both walked outside and sat down on a patch of grass, with a gorgeous view of the full moon and the stars, which reflected on the lake below.

'_You're right; it is beautiful,' _said Puri as he lay down onto the grass and stared up at the sky with his large silver eyes. Moony joined his side and rested his head down on his paws.

'_I like to come out here in my wolf form whenever there is a full moon. It is the perfect time for me to think, and when the sky is clear like this one, it helps me to relax,' _said Moony.

'_Does it ever get hard for you, Moony? I mean, with you being a werewolf and all... I'm sorry if that seemed rude.'_

'_It used to, definitely. But I have gotten used to it after so many years. I consider myself lucky compared to other werewolves, actually. A lot of my kind are looked down upon by other witches and wizards and are treated differently. That's why so many have joined the Dark Lord. But it's not like that for me. I was offered this job by Dumbledore years ago, and also this year. Not to mention that Severus' Wolfsbane, I don't even mind being a werewolf anymore. Being an actual wolf rather than a beast is fun, and I know that I won't hurt anyone. The transformation is still painful, but it doesn't last long. I can imagine that life can get harder for you at times, Puri.'_

'_Of course it does... I've grown in confidence a lot now, though. At the start of this year, I was so scared, so upset, I was just _terrified. _I had no idea what I was going to do. But once I became closer to Harry and the others, I felt a lot happier. You would expect me to be worse than ever after what happened the other day, but I am not. I'm just angry at him. I want to make him feel the pain he has caused me my whole life.'_

Both animals were silent for a few moments, before Moony finally spoke.

'_I am so proud of you, Puri. So is Harry, your friends, Minerva, Severus and your mother, of course. Most people would not be able to cope with even just a fraction of what you have been through, and yet here you are, sitting out here and looking towards the future. It's incredible of you.'_

'_Harry has helped me a lot, especially since I plucked up the courage to confess to him. That just boosted my confidence up completely, really. I have hid my true feelings for him for so long, and then he told me that he feels the same way about me. It was probably the happiest moment of my life.'_

'_You are both very good for each other,' _Moony smiled. _'In the past I would have never believed that something like this would happen, but now, I can see that you two are made for each other. I wish you all the best.'_

'_I wish you and Severus all the best, too.'_

Moony shook his head, clearly embarrassed.

'_Thank you, Puri. I do feel as though I have some love for Severus, but as he is not my mate, it's not possible to feel as much affection for him as he could for me, or that you could for Harry...'_

'_Who is your mate, Severus?'_

Moony paused and looked away.

'_...Sirius Black.'_

Puri looked at him sadly.

'_I am so sorry for asking, Moony,' _he said, feeling guilty. Moony looked back at him and smiled.

'_It's alright, Puri, you weren't to know. I do love Severus though, and I will not push that away, even though he is not my mate.'_

'_I am glad. You have made him so much happier, Moony. I have never seen him like this before.'_

'_That is because his last love left him.'_

Puri tilted his head.

'_Last love?'_

'_It's... It's personal to him. I would much rather him tell you than me. But it isn't just me who has made him happier recently. It also has been you, Puri. He told me that he always knew that something was happening to you, something that he had never been told about or witnessed himself. He could always tell that there wasn't something right between you and Lucius. But now you are happier yourself and found someone you love, even if it is Harry, it makes him happier too.'_

'_I didn't know that. Thank you for telling me.'_

'_It is fine, Puri.'_

The fox yawned and placed his head down onto his paws. Moony yawned himself and lifted his paw in the direction of the castle.

'_Perhaps it is best if we head back to the dungeons, now. We are both fairly tired.'_

Puri nodded and they both carefully made their way back to the Slytherin Dungeons. Once they had made it to outside Severus' room, Moony turned to Puri, smiling.

'_We should do this again next month,' _he said. Puri nodded, and Moony returned it and walked back into the room. Puri turned around and headed back to the common room. He placed a paw on the door, thought of the new password in his mind, and it opened. It closed after him when he made his way down the stairs and into his room, where he barely had the energy to transform back into his human form. He collapsed onto the bed, and it wasn't long before he started to drift off into sleep, smiling at the image of a moonlit sky and a raven-haired Gryffindor in his mind.

* * *

**A/N: **I remember how I loved writing Moony and Puri's conversation in the original story. I loved rewriting it even more.

Thanks so much for all of your reviews and everything! I literally always update at night now so that I can go to my emails and read and reply to all of your reviews in the morning while I eat my breakfast. It's just so encouraging!

Anyway, thank you for reading, as always. I hope you enjoyed it!


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